Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao on Friday said the State government had initiated moves to ensure that everyone in the State gets vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of this year. The State government, he said, had floated global tenders for one crore Covid vaccine doses, but vaccine production, however, had not reached the stage to meet this demand.

“Though the production of vaccine in Telangana State is the highest in the country, the Central government takes away 85 per cent of the doses and keeps it under its control. States and private operators are forced to purchase from the remaining 15 per cent,” he said.



The Union government should have had the foresight to see the situation unfolding in the country on account of Covid-19 and administered vaccine to the people of the country first instead of exporting it to other countries, Rama Rao said, after inaugurating a 100-bed hospital at Thippapur in the temple town of Vemulawada.

Pointing out that Covid cases had gradually declined in the State, he said vaccination was the only method to check the spread of the virus and the State government was moving in that direction. Talking about people who have been infected by Black and White Fungus after recovering from Covid, the Minister said that anti-fungal medicines were available and the government was ready to arrange more medicines as well as facilities based on medical experts’ advice.

Stating that experts had warned about children getting infected by Coronavirus in the third wave, the Minister emphasised the need to be alert right from now. Rama Rao instructed the officials to develop the old Primary Health Centre in Vemulawada into a 50-bed Covid ward for children. Similarly, a separate ward for children should be arranged in Sircilla by June end.

The Minister also instructed officials to utilise the services of medical students who had completed their course in foreign countries and start telemedicine to help patients in home isolation. On comments made by various quarters over Covid treatment, Rama Rao advised doctors not to worry about such comments. “The medical staff are working under tremendous pressure and the State government will always extend its full support to the medical staff,” he said, adding that people will not forget the services rendered by the doctors and other medical staff.



The Minister said based on the request of local MLA Ch Ramesh Babu, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao sanctioned a hospital to the temple town to provide quality medical facilities to the local people. A Covid ward with a 50-bed capacity was also developed in the hospital. Informing that 500-bed capacity medical facilities were available in the hospital, the Minister appreciated District Collector D Krishna Bhaskar and medical officer Mahesh Rao for completing the hospital by striving hard in the past one month. Rama Rao said the fever survey had established that 3,900 people in the district were suffering from fever. All of them were given Covid kits. Moreover, so far, 22,000 people have been administered vaccine in the district, he said and assured sanction of an oxygen plant at the Vemulawada hospital on the lines of Sircilla. The oxygen plant costing Rs 40 lakh would be set up within 10 days, he added.