Odisha CM attends meeting of COVID vaccination advisory panel, seeks suggestions to strengthen heath system

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India] May 29 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday attended the first COVID Vaccination Advisory Committee meeting and said that the state needs to fine-tune the processes to defeat the coronavirus with the advice of the health experts.
According to a press release, Patnaik sought the advice of top health experts of the country on the strategy to tackle the future waves of the pandemic and on ways to strengthen the healthcare system.
An official release said eminent health experts and doctors, Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (chairman), Dr. Devi Shetty, Dr. Ramakanta Panda, Dr. Subrat Acharya, Dr. Lalit Kant, Dr. Mrudula Phadke, Dr Subrata Acharya Dr. Datteswar Hota, Dr. E. Venkat Rao, Dr. Sanghamitra Pati, Dr MRPatnaik Dr. Ajay Parida and Dr. CVK Mohanty (Convenor) attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting on the virtual platform, the Chief Minister appreciated and thanked all the expert members for accepting the invitation.
The Chief Minister said that the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated families, communities, and economies across the world. For the first time, humanity across the globe is affected by a pandemic at the same time. It's been more than a year and still, there is no end in sight, he added.
He further said that in India, the second wave has caused so much turmoil that people are very scared about the future. They fear more variants and more waves. They fear uncertainty. On top of it, the lockdowns and their effect on the economy, have caused great financial pressure on many families and businesses, he said.
The Chief Minister said that people today need the counsel of reputed respected experts to tell them words of wisdom to withstand this onslaught of the virus and motivate them to continue the fight.
He said that Odisha has been able to provide timely help to the COVID patients and take care of their health care requirement to a large extent. "We have been able to manage the oxygen support systems and even provided help to other states for their oxygen systems. We have been able to manage without our health care systems getting over overwhelmed," he added.
He said the current trend of COVID cases is on the decline across the state except for a few districts. The second wave is beginning to recede, he hoped. "We are focusing on vaccination and intend to utilise all resources to quickly vaccinate our people," he said. (ANI)