G. Srinivasa Rao

Dr. G. Srinivasa Rao, also known as Gadala Srinivasa Rao, is a public health specialist and the director of the Public Health and Family Welfare Department of government of Telangana. He started his public service as a medical officer and worked as Chief Programme Officer, National Health Mission, Telangana, and an in-charge Joint Director for the programme of Non-Communicable Diseases for the State of Telangana, as an in-charge joint director he worked on the health & wellness of the people of Telangana state by conducting research & evaluation studies and implemented preventive strategies to prevent cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases including diabetes prevention. He also worked as an Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Medical & Health of government of Andhra Pradesh.
Covid-19 Pandemic
He is in the forefront of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the director of public health and family welfare of Telangana state, and has led the battle against Covid-19 in Telangana state. During the COVID-19 lockdown in India which started on 23 March 2020, he appealed to people to adhere to lockdown and stay indoors. During the peak of the pandemic he had worked for 18-20 hours daily on an average.
He launched India’s first real-time health surveillance platform the Covid-19 Monitoring System App which was developed by Vera Smart Healthcare in merely three days. This app was distributed to officials, 1500-2000 Asha and ANM workers of thirty three districts of Telangana State and it enabled officials to trace and also Geo-tag Covid-19 patients and their contacts. The information collected by health care workers is forwarded to 4800 PHC sub-centers and then it is sent to state’s public health center and then the data is shared with the district medical health office for required action. With this surveillance system Dr. G. Srinivasa Rao and his team were able to track and monitor the foreign returnees and control the community spread of covid-19 pandemic in Telangana state.
On 13 January 2021, he received the first 3.64 lakh Covishield vials of the vaccine at the storage facility in Koti, Hyderabad and these vaccine jabs were given to healthcare workers of the state from 16 January 2021. He has given a call to all the healthcare workers to set an example in getting vaccinated which will encourage frontline workers and other beneficiaries who are next in line. At the beginning stage of vaccination drive there were apprehensions among the healthcare and frontline workers to get vaccination, to give confidence to them, he vouched the safety of the vaccine and explained that covid-19 vaccine is similar to those given to newborns for polio and DPT, and he also assured that almost two lakh people in Telangana State have been vaccinated and that there have been no vaccine-related deaths.

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