Bengaluru :  Health Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar urged Covid recovered people and their family members to voluntarily get evaluated for TB.

He was speaking at Vidhana Soudha after launching the special TB test drive which will be held across the state from August 16 to August 31.

We have initiated a special drive to evaluate post-covid complications in people who have recovered from Covid-19 infection. There are more than 28 lakh people in the state who have recovered from the infection. Since both Covid-19 and TB infect the lungs we have launched this special drive to ensure early detection of TB in people who have recovered from covid, said Minister.

People who have recovered from Covid-19 should voluntarily get themselves evaluated for TB. If it is detected at an early stage treatment will become easier, he added.

Since 2017, 75 lakh suspected cases have been identified and 88% of them have been tested. About 3.9% have been detected with TB. Due to covid pandemic, the TB evaluation drives have been slightly hit. Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji has laid a vision to make India free from TB by 2025 and our state government is working towards this goal, minister said.

Arogya Nandana

Since it is being said that children may be predominantly affected during third wave, we have decided to launch a new initiative called ‘Arogya Nandana’. There are about 1.5 crore children in the state and all of them will be subjected to test under this initiative. This will be launched by CM soon. Under this program, children with less immunity power and other comorbidities will be identified and they will will be provided with nutritious food and supplements to boost immunity. All precautionary measures will be taken to monitor their health, Dr.Sudhakar said.

Request for additional Vaccine

We have set an ambitious target to fully inoculate the entire eligible adult population in the state by December. I will soon visit Delhi to seek additional supply of vaccine to our state. Private sector can procure 25% of the vaccine production. We are having discussions with corporate companies to explore possibilities of companies procuring vaccines under CSR and providing it to state Government. This will significantly accelerate the vaccination drive, minister said.

It is unfortunate that covid infected persons have committed suicide in Mangaluru. People should not panic if they are infected. Covid-19 is curable and lakhs of people have recovered, minister said.