• Hospital official blames Nadra for confusion
• 1,500 people over 60 vaccinated on first day at seven centres
• 20 centres set up in Pindi district

ISLAMABAD: Like in other parts of the country, Covid-19 vaccination of senior citizens commenced in the federal capital and Rawalpindi district on Wednesday.

A total of 1,500 people over the age of 60 were vaccinated on the first day in Islamabad.

A free-for-all situation was observed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). The hospital, which was inoculating around 200 people daily, received around 400 additional citizens, majority of who were retired bureaucrats, parliamentarians and influentials who wanted to get the jab at the earliest.

In view of the situation observed on the first day, the hospital’s management has decided to increase the vaccination counters, close Out-Patient Department (OPD) and issue tokens to ensure the process went smoothly.

The government had announced that vaccination of senior citizens would start from March 10 following which a large number of people, who had registered themselves, reached Pims on Wednesday morning.

A doctor at the hospital, on condition of anonymity, said majority of the senior citizens were bureaucrats, former ambassadors, parliamentarians and those who served on important posts in ministries.

“Unfortunately some of them were behaving like they were still bureaucrats and were not ready to wait for more than five minutes. We also kept getting phone calls from serving bureaucrats who wanted their parents and senior colleagues (who had retired) to be vaccinated first. It created a commotion as everyone wanted the jab without waiting for their turn,” he said.

The doctor blamed the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for the situation as it had sent messages to senior citizens to reach Pims without mentioning the time.

However, another doctor, wishing not to be named, held the hospital administration equally responsible for the mismanagement.

“We should have given more respect to senior citizens and had been more prepared to vaccinate them without any delay. Unfortunately there were improper arrangements compared to the number of people who had reached there for the vaccination. Nadra should also have informed the person about the appointment time instead of just the date of the vaccination,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, Pims Joint Executive Director Dr Minhajus Siraj held Nadra responsible for the mismanagement as Pims was not aware of how many senior citizens had been advised to reach the hospital.

“We usually vaccinate around 200 healthcare workers per day. On Wednesday, 383 senior citizens, apart from the 200 health professionals, reached the hospital, with most of them not willing to wait for their turn,” he said.

“We have suggested Nadra to mention the time of appointment rather than just the date of inoculation in the message. We have also decided to vacate rooms of ophthalmology department OPD which was yet to open, but its rooms were occupied by the staff. The step will help us accommodate senior citizens. There were three counters but from Thursday (today) two more will be established,” Dr Siraj said.

He said it had also been decided to introduce token system so that people wait for their turn and reach the counter once their number was displayed.

“I am sure the situation would normalise from Thursday (today) as all issues faced on the first day would be addressed and the staff deployed to vaccinate people would be increased,” Dr Siraj added.

On the other hand, Additional Deputy Commissioner East Babar Sahib Din told Dawn that 1,500 people over the age of 60 were vaccinated on the first day.

The senior citizens in the capital would be vaccinated in two phases, he said, adding that those who had registered would be given the vaccine in the first phase while the remaining from the same age group will be inoculated in the second phase.

Seven centres have been set up in Pims, Poly Clinic, CDA Hospital and in Tarlai, Bhara Kahu, Sihala and Tarnol, Mr Din said, adding that three more centres were also being established to provide vaccination facility to the people.

He said arrangements were also being made in private hospitals with 15 so far selected where vaccination centres will be set up.

The capital administration has a capacity to vaccinate 1,500 people on a daily basis, he said, adding that the capacity would increase to 3,000 after more centres are set up.

Around 20,000 people have so far registered themselves for the vaccination, the official said, adding that senior citizens are likely to be vaccinated within a month followed by those in the next age group.

Officials of the capital administration said Islamabad had 36,028 people in the 70-79 age group while 16,013 were 80 years and above. So far 1,607 people in the age group of 70-79 and 570 in the age bracket of 80 and above have contracted Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the vaccination process also started in Rawalpindi district where more than 14,000 people over the age of 60 have registered for the anti-coronavirus vaccine.

A total of 120 people over 60 years were vaccinated against 280 scheduled for Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq inaugurated the vaccination centre at the Red Crescent Hospital. District Health Officer Dr Ehsan Ghani was also present on the occasion. The deputy commissioner directed the relevant officers to play an active role in the vaccination process.

The administration has established 20 centres across the district where vaccination will be administered to senior citizens. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided three mobile units to administer the vaccine in areas where vaccinators are not available.— Additional reporting by Aamir Yasin

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2021