All the 102 residents of Anandam Old Age Home in Ambattur have got vaccinated, with the last batch going through the process on March 5. At 95, P. Shankar Raman is the oldest to get the jab. “I barely felt the needle going into the muscle,” is what he has to say.
Over the last week, the home was taking the residents in batches to the Corporation health centre at Venkatapuram in Ambattur for the vaccine shot.
“I am happy and relieved that everything went on well, and am thankful to the supervisor Sundari and her staff for making this exercise smooth for all the residents,” says Dr. G. Kamala, the in-house consultant at Anandam.
The trip to the centre seemed to be an outing, as none of the residents had left the home since the outbreak of the pandemic, except for the 29 who were treated at Government Stanley Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
Before being vaccinated, all the residents were informed about what it would do for them.
“All the medical staff and the trustees have been vaccinated; and we shared our experience to boost their morale. Besides, they see us every day going about doing our work, after being vaccinated,” says Dr. Kamala.
A day before the vaccination, hypertension and blood count were recorded.
“For some seniors, the BP spiked as they waited for their turn; they were made to relax and sent only after a few others had returned,” she says. Those who are diabetic are prescribed their regular medicine and breakfast.
A few hours after the injection, post-lunch, senior citizens were given a dose of Paracetamol. Says Dr. Kamala: “This is given as a precautionary measure, and those who had mild fever were given an additional dose.”