Hundreds of people thronged vaccination centres in Coimbatore district where camps for the general public aged above 18 were held on Tuesday after 10 days. People formed queues in front of many vaccination centres from Monday night to ensure that they got the tokens as the camps started on Tuesday morning.
Minor tension prevailed at many centres as several people who waited in queues from the early hours were not given tokens.
At Nadoor near Mettupalayam, people queued up from Monday night.
Many people -- senior citizens and youngsters -- came to the place with mats to sleep on by the side of roads. They also carried snacks and mosquito repellents to pass the night.
At a school near Nanjundapuram, people formed queues as early as 2 a.m. They continued the wait for the vaccine even though it rained around 6.30 a.m.
At Subramaniampalayam, people staged a road blockade after the vaccination drive did not start as announced in the morning. People who did not get token after waiting for several hours staged a protest at Vadamadurai near Thudiyalur. Minor tension prevailed at several other vaccination centres and the police stepped in to control the crowd.
According to the district administration, a total of 21,550 doses of Covishield vaccine were allotted to 61 centres in the district on Tuesday. Of these, 7,750 doses were administered through 31 centres in Coimbatore Corporation limits. The rural areas received 12,800 doses through 30 centres. A senior official involved in the vaccination programme said that centres were overcrowded as allotment of doses for vaccinating the general public aged above 18 came after a gap of 10 days. The official said that the previous allotment the district received was used for vaccinating persons aged above 65, who had taken the first dose of Covishield.