It was complete chaos everywhere at the District Headquarters Hospital [DHH] vaccination centre here on Thursday aspeople turning up in large numbers jostled with one another to getvaccine. Sources informed that a serpentine queue was formed outside thevaccination centre, with the people in the queue braving the scorchingheat, for getting the Covid jab.
For the senior citizens, especially,the long wait was unbearable, with a few even fainting outside thecentre. Adding insult to injury, there was no provision of potabledrinking water and shed to take rest.
Despite repeated calls made by the DHH authority to stick to timeslots issued while booking for vaccination sessions on the Co-winportal, a large number of people turned up at the centre much earlier.As a result, there was a huge crowd by 10 o’clock. Septuagenarian Maheswar Rath quipped that the violation of Covidprotocols at the vaccination centre could become the cause for furtherspread of the Corona virus. “I returned without taking the jabs, as Iwas afraid of the contagion,” he remarked.
One Nilamani Lenka who along with his wife Sumitra came 10 minutesahead of his time slot also returned back without taking the vaccine,seeing the long queue.
They said the Government must ensure priorityfor aged and disabled people and those requiring the second dose ofthe vaccine.
According to hospital sources, 2,700 Covishield vaccines had beenreceived on Tuesday out of which 1,200 doses were allotted to the DHHvaccination centre and the rest had been dispatched to the PPTHospital, Paradip CHC, Biridi and Naugaon CHCs, Kanimula and RahamaPHCs, etc.
Additional District Medical Officer, Dr Pramod Kumar Barik who is incharge of Covid vaccination drive in the district said the people werenot obeying the norms and maintaining discipline. Dr Barik said that even those who are issued token with specific time for the vaccination are reaching the centre earlier. Moreover, on Thursday hundreds of people from villages converged at the vaccination centre without time slot and registration, leading to the melee, he added.