Bengaluru, Nov 10 (IANS): People should neglect the second dose of vaccine within prescribed time as both the doses are necessary to get maximum protection against the Covid-19, the Karnataka health minister has said.

"We must not let our guard down until the pandemic is completely eradicated", said K. Sudhakar, the Health Minister on Tuesday.

Karnataka has achieved coverage of 89 per cent in the first dose and 48 per cent in the second dose, he added.

"Union government will soon start applying vaccines for children. We will provide vaccination to children based on priority as we have already identified kids with vulnerabilities through Arogya Nandana program. State has already administered about 6.75 crore vaccine doses and we have now streamlined the entire process," said the minister.

Speaking at the 125th anniversary celebration of Minto Eye Hospital, Sudhakar said that Actor Puneeth Rajkumar's eye donation has helped four people to get vision.

The technology is so advanced that we can now give vision to four people using the eyes of a single person. "About 3-4 crore people in our country suffer from blindness. We need to increase the number of people who come forward to donate their eyes. It is a blessing to be able to provide vision to four people even after death. Chief Minister Basavaj Bommai has pledged to donate his organs. I had pledged to donate my eyes last year. We need to make it a people's movement," said Sudhakar.

Minto Eye hospital has now entered its 125th year due to the hard work of many doctors, nursing and other staff from many decades. Being home to such a historic institution is a matter of pride for our state. Started in 1896 as a small dispensary, Minto Hospital has now served for 125 years.

The hospital has treated people for about 125 years from plague to recent Covid-19. About 500-800 people come to OPD everyday and about 10,000 surgeries are carried out every year, the minister said.