Margao : A day after Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai objected to employees of Verna-based pharmaceutical companies crowding out local residents in vaccination against coronavirus, the Margao urban health centre on Sunday put up a notice saying that it has put on hold vaccination for workers of the pharma firms.

Sardesai had visited the health centre on Saturday, and was “surprised” to see that a majority of the people queued up for the jab were employees of pharmaceutical companies based at Verna.

He had called on the medical officer, urging her to give preference to residents of Margao and Fatorda in vaccination.

As a consequence of Sardesai taking up the cudgels for the local residents, a notice was put up on Sunday at the health centre that said, ‘Vaccination for pharmaceutical companies is temporarily withheld till further notice’.

Speaking on the development, MMC councillors backed by the GFP said, “We are not against vaccination of employees of the pharma firms. But we, the local residents, should be given first preference. The Verna employees should have a vaccination centre at the industrial estate.”

On starting COVID care centres in the city, they said that COVID care centres in Fatorda and Margao have been put in place. But since no doctors and nurses have been deployed, the facilities are yet to start operating.

“The health department should deploy doctors and nurses at the COVID care centres as soon as possible,” they demanded.