Kolkata Municipal Corporation show-causes two officials for doorstep jabs without nod

KOLKATA: The doorstep vaccination programme (duare vaccine), that a section of citizens with extreme mobility issues were looking forward to, received a major jolt on Sunday with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation show-causing two civic health officials for administering vaccines to the very aged and bed-ridden due to various ailments in the Bhowanipore localities without nod from civic headquarters.
It was on the request of locals that the Ward 70 councillor Ashim Bose had organised the ‘duare’ vaccine camp in several Bhowanipore neighbourhoods that had earlier been carried out in Howrah and Sonarpur. But it boomeranged when other councillors demanded a similar outreach in their wards, something that had civic health department officials squirming.
Bose said he had taken the initiative of inoculating the elderly and ailing at their home following an appeal from their kin. The ward coordinator led a team of civic vaccinators and doctors to several households in Chakraberia Road (north), Balaram Bose Lane, Dr Rajendra Road and Rammohan Dutta Road on July 5 and 6 to give the shots to those who had not been able to go down to vaccination clinics. The drive was halted on the instruction of the civic top brass.
Some KMC health staff are facing charges of organizing the camp without keeping civic authorities in the loop. Sources said the civic administration has show-caused an executive health officer and a medical officer and asked them to explain how they conducted such a programme without approval from civic headquarters. Bose said: “I only responded to an appeal from elderly and ailing residents. The vaccines as well as recipients were genuine. Even then, if I have done something wrong, I stand corrected,” Bose said.
Officials said such a drive could affect the tempo of vaccination programme as there are staff issues. Board of administrators chairman Firhad Hakim had also said doorstep vaccination wasn’t possible without express clearance by state health department.