Vaccine woes still haunt Chittoor residents

People wait for their turn to take vaccine at a PSC centre in SVIMS Hospital in Tirupati on Monday
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People wait for their turn to take vaccine at a PSC centre in SVIMS Hospital in Tirupati on Monday 

Highlights

  • Spot registrations to administer shots has been forcing people to stand in queue for a long time under the scorching sun
  • As the Covid testing is also done at some UHCs, it’s causing threat to vaccine beneficiaries waiting on the premises
  • Though the district received 8,000 doses a week ago, the wait for Covaxin second dose continues

Tirupati: Uncertainty in availability of Covid vaccines and lack of prior information on schedule of vaccination and deviation from online registration process have all made the vaccination drive a fuss. With this, the vaccination centres have been drawing huge crowds everyday from the early morning forcing them to stand outside the Urban Health Centres (UHC) to register their names.

They have to stand outside as centres are being opened at 9 am after which they are forming lines inside the premises though the climate is hot by then. As the senior citizens and people above the age of 45 are being given the shots now, this long wait has been testing their patience.

Ignoring the safety norms completely, the waiting hall and separate way for entry and exit as mentioned in the guidelines could not be seen anywhere now which results in lack of physical distancing and severe inconvenience to beneficiaries. The more worrying factor was that people having symptoms of Covid are also reaching there as test is also done at some UHCs.

Krishna Rao, a senior citizen told The Hans India that he stood in the line for more than one hour on Saturday but could not take the shot which forced him to stand again on Monday. He has been waiting for taking the second dose for the last one week after completion of six weeks since taking the first shot.

The whole process has been causing a lot of confusion to people as they could not know whether vaccine is available; if so, will it be given only as first dose or second dose or both and finally which vaccine is available – Covishield or Covaxin.

The non-availability of Covaxin also causes worry to its beneficiaries who took their first doses almost six weeks ago. Though the district received 8,000 doses of Covaxin on April 18, till now, the people's wait for their second doses is continuing which raises many eyebrows.

Some of the beneficiaries in the queue lines have even said that though they registered in Cowin portal for taking the second dose, their registrations are cancelled by the system. They expressed anger asking, "Who created all this fuss? If the registrations are there we can come at the allotted time. The vaccination has now become a cumbersome process. It would be even difficult for the senior citizens once it is open for above 18 years".

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