People should get vaccinated follow Covid-appropriate behaviour Telangana Governor

     Hyderabad, Apr 4 (PTI) Though coronavirus cases are coming down in the country, people should get vaccinated and follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Monday.
     Interacting with a group of journalists, she narrated how Telangana managed to fight the pandemic with innovative ideas such as mobile testing labs and distribution of face masks free of cost or at Re 1.
     She also hailed the role of the media in the pandemic management and said, "Without their exemplary efforts in removing vaccine hesitancy, today we wouldn't have been a global case study in the fight against the pandemic."
     Soundararajan said she took her second dose of vaccine in a tribal belt of Telangana to remove vaccine hesitancy among people in the area.
     According to her, the day after she took her second jab, more than 200 tribal people came forward and took the vaccine in the area.
     "Though Covid cases are coming down and vaccine is not mandatory, we still should get vaccinated and the eligible groups should take booster dose and continue to follow Covid protocol," she said, adding, "Today, we are safe only because we took the vaccine."
     She said the immediate challenge the country is facing is of psychological issue. The pandemic has left its impact on the minds of people.
     She said doctors, nurses and medical professionals who served during the pandemic can use their experience to deal with future pandemics.
     "They have first-hand experience...and if they do research along with their practice, their research can play a very key role in handling future pandemics and also handling immediate challenges," she said.
     The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Press Information Bureau and ICMR-National Institute of Virology organised a knowledge sharing press tour for health journalists.
     The purpose of the tour is to understand the achievements of the scientific community, scientific process of developing new vaccines, especially Covaxin, and challenges and opportunities, the governor said.
     With the help of the National Institute of Nutrition, the state is focusing on the development of the Adivasi community. Recently, NIN scientists conducted a study to increase nutritional levels among Adivasis and find the gaps. The governor has also adopted six tribal villages to develop them. PTI PLB SMN

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)