Booster Dose: Odisha Govt Directs Dists To Give Priority To Docs & Health Workers On COVID Duty

Bhubaneswar: The state government on Sunday directed all district administrations to ensure administration of booster dose to the doctors, nurses and health workers, who have been assigned COVID duty, on priority.

Speaking at a review meeting on Omicron situation at district-level, here, chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra directed that all COVID hospitals and COVID care centres should set up help desks for communication with family members and relatives of the patients.

Stressing on empathetic treatment to the patients, he said no patient should feel neglected in hospitals and should be attended with care and love. Their family members should be communicated about condition of the patients regularly.

He also directed the collectors to visit COVID hospitals personally and ensure the arrangements like availability of medicine, manpower, instruments, pathological test facilities, oxygen, seamless admission of the patients, treatment, trained doctors, nurse and health workers and communication with family members of the patients.

Additional chief secretary, Health and Family Welfare Raj Kumar Sharma said all  facilities and provisions that were put in place during the second wave should be reactivated.

He also asked the district collectors to recruit the retired doctors and nurses locally as per the requirement. The CDMOs and public health officers were told to go ahead with vaccination of booster dose with available vaccines.

Development Commissioner Paradeep Jena assured the collectors of cooperation among the state and Central PSUs and COVID hospitals and told them to go ahead with tripartite agreements like first and second waves.

It was revealed in the meeting that 7181 oxygen supported beds, around 1000 pediatric beds, 2024 ICUs and HDUs and 874 ventilators have been made available in the districts.

Out of 16,117 active positive cases, 15,640 patients are being treated in home isolation. They are being managed by the rapid response team members.

The present trend shows that around 97% of patients can be managed without actual hospitalisation. Only 3% of the available beds, 11% of the ICUs and 3% of the ventilators are being used.

Director, National Health Mission Shalini Pandit; Director, Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra and Additional Director Dr Umakanta Satpathy along with senior officers of departments concerned participated in the meeting.