TN govt withdraws order on compulsory COVID-19 vaccination to visit public places

The Tamil Nadu government withdrew its order mandating inoculation against COVID-19 for all the eligible population in the state, in view of the decline in new infections.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday withdrew its order mandating COVID-19 for all the eligible population in the state, in view of the decline in new infections. According to the department of public health and preventive medicine, though the compulsory vaccination notification has been withdrawn, other Covid-19 protocols would continue to be in place.

"In continuation of the reduction in Covid-19 cases in the state and lifting of all restrictions which were laid down to prevent COVID-19 by the Government of India, Tamil Nadu achieved a vaccination coverage of more than 92 percent and 75 percent of first and second dose respectively, for those above 18 years, it is decided to withdraw the notification issued under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act,1939 vide reference 9th cited with immediate effect," it said.

The government had issued the order in 2021. With the withdrawal of notification, the health department directed the authorities to ensure that people are encouraged to follow COVID appropriate behavior such as maintaining social distance, wearing face masks, avoiding crowds,s and keep creating awareness of the important role of vaccination. ".. persons who are eligible to get vaccinated and the respective first, second, and booster dose, as the case may be, are encouraged to willingly come forward to take the doses," the notification said.

As of Saturday, Tamil Nadu's overall first dose coverage for those above 18 years was 92.31 percent while the second dose was 76.85 percent. The total coverage of the population stands at 10.51 crore, a bulletin said.

PTI