Jab well done! Telangana people make a dash to Maha and Karnataka to get vaccinated

HYDERABAD: Many Covid 19 patients from neighbouring states have been rushing to Hyderabad for treatment when they fail to find a hospital bed in their region. But the trend is in reverse when it comes to vaccination.
Many people from Telangana, aged between 18 and 44 years, have been going to Maharashtra and Karnataka to get vaccinated. This unique form of ‘vaccine tourism’ has been noticed in Mancherial, Jagityal, Adilabad, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Kamareddy and Sangareddy districts for the past past 10 days.Some are even renting vehicles to cross the border. All these districts are 100 to 150 km from the Maharashtra and Karnataka borders.
The Telangana government had planned to start vaccination for those between 18 and 44 years from May 1. But because of a shortage of vaccines, it halted the drive for the younger lot and focussed only on those in the 45 and above category.
On the other hand, both Maharashtra and Karnataka have started vaccinating those below 45 years. Sources, however, said they are not getting many takers among the younger lot in the smaller towns especially in border areas. It is these slots that people from Telangana are filling.
Sironcha in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra is about 110 km from Mancherial. Similarly, Mahur in Nanded district is about 80 to 100 km from Adilabad. Zaheerabad in Sangareddy is about 30 km from Bidar town in Karnataka and around 110 km from Hyderabad.