Vaccination centres found shut after 2 pm in Patiala

Karam Parkash

Patiala, March 29

Beneficiaries visiting Covid vaccination centres after 2 pm in the district will return disappointed as visits to various centres on Tuesday revealed that a majority of them were locked.

The vaccination centre at Government Rajindra Hospital, which has already been performing poorly in vaccination, was also found locked.

The health workers present there said they didn’t vaccinate after 2 pm.

Similarly, the vaccination centre at Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital was also shut.

The vaccination centre is a few metres away from the office of the Patiala Civil Surgeon.

Even the Model Town Community Health Centre (CHC) was closed.

When questioned about the timings of the vaccination, Senior Medical Officer Dr Kushaldeep Kaur said vaccination timings were from 9 am to 3 pm.

However, The Tribune found that a majority of the health staff was not available at the Model Town centre at 2 pm, including the SMO.

The health staff present at the centre said some staff had gone to attend a lunch of a senior health officer, who would be retiring in the coming days.

Dr Veenu Goyal, district immunisation officer: “Health workers at every vaccination centre have been asked to vaccinate beneficiaries until 3 pm. I will again issue orders in this regard and inspect more centres to ensure that orders are implemented in letter and spirit.”