Chichawatni’s Covid-19 vaccination drive in shambles

Citizens queuing for jabs flout SOPs while health staffers neglect own guidelines

CHICHAWATNI:

Citizens visiting the Chichawatni coronavirus vaccination centre are facing severe difficulties in getting themselves immunised.

Reportedly, low performance of the health staff coupled with citizens flouting Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) at the facility has resulting in the local administration missing its vaccination target.

The people who visit the coronavirus vaccination centre in the Judicial Complex face hurdles, which has raised fears that the government’s goal of vaccinating as many citizens as possible will be affected.

Moreover, there are complaints of complete neglect of SOPs while vaccinating the people. Social distancing is not being followed at the facility.

Citizens claims the health staff on duty do not even get up for administrating the injection. Instead, the dispenser injects the vaccine while sitting in a chair, neglecting all health guidelines.

On the other hand, the staff who inject the Covid-19 vaccines at the centre claimed that they were being forced to work with the available resources.

Read CS orders door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination

Reportedly, during the vaccination, the health staff do not follow the basic guidelines, including asking the citizens for any basic information about fever, blood pressure and chronic diseases they may have. Visitors also complained of abusive behaviour by the staff.

They complained that certain health staff members at the vaccine centre ignored the persons who arrived for vaccination. Many of the staffers kept using their mobile phones. When Chichawatni Health Deputy Director Dr Imranul Haq was contacted over the situation at the vaccination centre, he stated that the performance of the local health department was being undermined.

In a short span of the past year and a half, the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected Punjab.

Medical experts had suggested the use of vaccines to strengthen the natural immunity of the people. Currently, the only way to prevent this deadly disease is to take precautions under the SOPs.

Therefore, for the protection of the people, strict measures such lockdown were taken at the government level to implement the safety measures under the SOPs.

In addition to this, despite being a developing country, vaccines were being provided free of cost to the people.

For this purpose, vaccine centres had been set up across the country by the departments of health, but their performance has been affected due to the negligence of the health department officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2021.