MARGAO
The TB hospital witnessed an uproar on Thursday as COVID vaccination lay suspended at the instructions of the State Election Commission (SEC), with citizens slamming the poll panel as well as the authorities for their lack of sensitivity by calling off the vaccination exercise when Covid deaths have been mounting by the day.
As the TB hospital authorities put up a notice at the entrance, postponing the vaccination drive on Thursday and Friday in view of the elections for the Margao civic body, citizens, including senior citizens demanded to know what has vaccination got to do with the Municipal polls scheduled on Friday.
What’s interesting to note is that the doctors and staff of the TB hospital vaccination centre were all willing to give a jab to the citizens, they expressed their helplessness in the matter citing State Election Commission’s instructions.
Angry citizens, including senior citizens, bitterly questioned the SEC guidelines when people are dying of Covid for want of facilities and vaccination. While many returned home disappointed without the dose, there were others who stood their ground and insisted with the health as well as the district authorities to resume the vaccination drive.
Mahila Congress chief Beena Naik, who was one of the senior citizens caught off guard by the SEC instructions to suspend the vaccination on Thursday and Friday, called up the Covid vaccination nodal officer, attached to the TB hospital Ira Almeida and then spoke to the district Collector, South Ruchika Katyal, IAS demanding resumption of the vaccination process.
While Ira and her staff explained Beena that the medical staff are all ready to take up the vaccination exercise, they cited the SEC instructions that has forced them to keep the drive on hold. The Mahila Congress chief then called up the district Collector at around 12.30 pm and demanded that the authorities immediately revise the order and resume the vaccination operations.
In the meantime, Dr Ira told the angry citizens to leave their numbers and addresses with the staff, promising to call them for vaccination on priority in the event the authorities do a rethink on the matter.
By 1 pm, all those who had left their numbers and addresses were sent messages to visit the centre as the authorities had by then decided to resume Covid vaccination at the TB hospital. At the end of the day, a total of 141 citizens took the Covid vaccine jab and the operations will continue as usual from Friday.
Meanwhile, Covid vaccination at the Margao UHC lay suspended on Thursday and will also not take place on Friday as well as the premises has been requisitioned for a polling station for Friday’s Municipal election.
