A mega Covid-19 vaccination campaign will be conducted at 10,000 centres across Tamil Nadu on September 12 which will benefit 10 per cent of the eligible population in the state.

The state health department in a statement said the vaccination camp is based on the lines of Intensified Pulse Polio Immunisation(IPPI) model. The Directorate of Public Health is expected to vaccinate 36,20,343 people in the mega vaccination camp.

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The Directorate in a statement said the estimated population of Tamil Nadu by mid-2021 was 7.77 crore and the eligible population of those above 18 years was 6.06 crore.

According to a study, a total of 3,31,84,824 people were inoculated in government Covid vaccination centres till September 5. Of this 2,62,93,892 were vaccinated with the first dose while 68,90,932 received both doses.

The Deputy Directors of Health Services across the state have been directed by the public health and preventive medicine department that Covid vaccinations should be conducted on September 12 at fixed booths already selected for the programme.

The state has 40,399 regular IPPI programme booths and 2,652 additional booths which means a total of 43,051 booths.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian has directed the health department to keep a special focus on residents of high-risk areas such as those bordering Kerala where the number of Covid-19 positive cases is high.

The focus is also on hilly and unreachable areas as people at these places would not have taken even the first dose of the vaccine.

The Directorate of Public Health said these vaccination booths would operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and would be managed by a minimum of four people each. This includes one vaccinator, one person for data entry and two Anganwadi workers.

The Minister told IANS, “The state is embarking on a mega vaccination drive and we will ensure that at least 10 per cent of the eligible population receives at least one dose of the vaccine. I have already written to the Union health minister for a separate allotment of 1 crore vaccines for this mega vaccine camp.”