Jamshedpur/Bokaro: Most of the big vaccination centres across the Steel City were shut on Thursday as their vaccine
stocks ran dry even as fresh cases in the district witnessed a rapid surge. In
Bokaro, the district authorities stopped the drive after it ran out of vaccine stock.
As the centres remained shut in
Jamshedpur, many beneficiaries, including senior citizens, were seen standing outside the hot sun to enquire about the fresh stocks and their turn to get the jabs. On the vaccine
shortage, a senior official of the district health department, Dr Sahir Paul, said, "We have placed orders for the vaccine and there is no way now other than waiting for the supply from the state headquarters."
Among the beneficiaries who returned empty-handed are Sishir Mukherjee and his wife Sabita, both in the mid-eighties, were standing disappointed at the Sonari community health centre. The couple, who lived one at their Sonari house as their only son is in the US, said they were suffering from various ailments and had a difficult time coming to the vaccination centre.
Sishir said, "The government should have some responsibility towards the senior citizens. They should use the public address system to announce the availability of the vaccine so that we do not face such hardships in this sizzling 40°C. In other centres, too, there was a heavy rush of people to get the vaccine shot." He also lamented that the government did not keep its promise of setting up the centres at every two kilometres.
Similarly, Supriya Jha (75), who was suffering from cancer, had to wait for a long time at the Steel City Nursing Home in Bistupur before being turned away citing lack of vaccine. She said, "I had taken so much trouble to reach the centre but I was turned away."
Rontu Das, a retired bank employee, complained that at many centres, those who want to get vaccinated but not registered in the Arogya Sethu app were not allowed to get the registration done for the vaccination. He said, "When everyone in the country does not have smartphones, it is impossible to get the registrations done through apps. The government should clarify on this matter."
Meanwhile, over 5,000 people assembled at aground near Kasidih to watch a cricket match on Wednesday night. The incident happened when the administration was trying to tighten the loose ends to bring the pandemic under control by making surprise checks at busy public places. The PCR vans nearby remained a mute spectator to the entire incident.
The grim situation of the vaccination drive is also witnessed in Bokaro with the district authorities admitting that they have run out of vaccines. Civil surgeon Dr A K Pathak said, “We were forced to shut vaccination centres today due to lack of supplies. A message has been sent to the state health department requesting fresh stock.” Pathak said barring a couple of session sites in rural areas, most of the 64 vaccination sites in the district remained closed on Thursday. These included two dozen private hospitals in the city and in the suburbs.
Bablu Agarwal, a city-based businessman who returned from a session site without getting vaccinated, said outside the ANM vaccination centre in Camp-2, “I came to get vaccinated, but the centre is closed saying there is no vaccine left.”
The district administration, however, has intensified testing and setting up new containment zones. As on Thursday evening, there were 23 containment zones across the district and the number of Covid cases was 7,191. The district had 272 active cases.