COVID-19 Vaccines May Not Be 100% Foolproof: Odisha Govt

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday cautioned people against any complacency even after being vaccinated.

“Vaccination will bring down the rate of mortality to a considerable extent. But there have been instances in which some people have contracted the virus even after getting the two vaccine shots. Adequate precautions like wearing masks, hand sanitisation and social distancing have to be taken to keep the infection at bay,” Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra told the media.

To contain the spread of the virus, the state government has opened temporary medical centres (TMCs) in some districts while instructions have been given to the collectors of those along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border to open the TMCs as per the requirement. he said.

Stating that over 50,000 tests will be conducted daily for early detection of the COVID patients, Mishra said that there are 9008 general beds in government and private hospitals for treatment of those infected and 17.5 per cent of the patients are admitted to these.

“Apart from the general beds, there are 2018 ICU beds where 21.01 per cent of patients have been admitted. Only 7.5 per cent of 782 beds with ventilators have been occupied,” he pointed out.