Thanks to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Odisha has crossed – despite hurdles – the milestone of inoculating one crore people with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. The immunisation drive had to be stopped temporarily in some districts owing to late arrival of vaccines from the Centre. However, while the state kept putting pressure on the Centre for more vaccines, it kept the drive going in the most critical areas with available doses. Right at the beginning of the free mass vaccination drive that began on June 21, the Chief Minister had asked officials concerned to ensure that the state met the target of vaccinating at least three lakh people daily.
A firm believer in advance planning, Patnaik had issued clear-cut instructions to bureaucrats concerned to work out a proper strategy to ensure that the entire population of the state was vaccinated as soon as possible. Dedicated health workers were the key elements of this plan and they have been working overtime to achieve the vaccination target set by the government. Keenly aware of the crucial role these workers play in creating awareness among people about the need for vaccination and removing misgivings in this regard from their minds, the five-time Chief Minister has been openly appreciating their work and encouraging them in many other ways.
At the same time, the state government has been preparing itself to face a possible third wave of COVID-19. Patnaik, who reviewed the COVID situation in the state recently, has been lauded for assuring the public that the government will pool all available resources to ensure proper healthcare for children who are likely to be worst affected by the third wave. His government is also being praised by health experts for approving an action plan to create the necessary infrastructure for that purpose. There can be no denying the importance of training doctors in paediatric care, an integral part of the Chief Minister’s latest strategy, to tackle the anticipated third wave of corona.
A farsighted leader, Patnaik had sufficiently strengthened Odisha’s health infrastructure before the first wave of COVID-19 hit the state last year. Hospitals and health centres even in remote areas were upgraded with the installation of new equipment and the government ensured that doctors did not play hooky. This was important because absenteeism among doctors in rural health centres had been a big problem in many tribal-dominated districts. Doctors were given incentives and motivated in other ways to discharge their duties properly.
As a result, Odisha not only had the required health infrastructure ready to tackle the pandemic, it also had sufficient trained manpower to deal with the situation. Soon after, the government also established dedicated COVID hospitals – the first in the country. Thanks to all this, Odisha did not suffer like many other states of the country during the pandemic. The Chief Minister continues to make efforts to ensure that people of the state remain as safe as possible with everyone getting the vaccines. It is the duty of every person in the state to cooperate with him in this endeavour.
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