Covid-19 inoculation drive Confusion mars campaign

ISLAMABAD: The lack of a uniform policy for the Covid-19 vaccination drive has caused confusion among senior citizens, who are also facing inconvenience because the location of many inoculation centres is far away from their homes.

Many are disturbed as they have not received the keenly-awaited text messages from the helpline informing them when and where to go to get their jabs. This is happening with many elderly persons despite the government being keen to encourage old people to get vaccinated.

A mega centre set up at the Expo Centre in Lahore, which is otherwise doing a fine job according to most people who have gone there, is administering the vaccine shots even to walk-ins who are above 60 years of age. But no other centre anywhere else in Punjab is willing to provide this facility.

In fact, the immunisation centres set up in the Islamabad Capital Territory bluntly refuse to administer vaccines to those above 60 and below 65 and those who have not received the code number from the helpline.

None but the Punjab government itself is responsible for spreading confusion specifically about the walk-ins. Punjab Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht tweeted: “Register now to get vaccinated. We have set up vaccination centres where professional staff is available to assist you. First priority is senior citizens who can either register at 1166 via mobile or on hhtp://t.co/ejPHwpOqs or just go with their cards to the centres.”

He deleted the post only after Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid tweeted that no message/information that is not from the government should be shared without verification. All those registering themselves through 1166 are being called to immunisation centres for vaccination through an SMS one by one according to their age. An unnecessary load on the immunisation centres will be a cause of trouble for the elderly.

However, an earlier tweet by the Punjab health minister also added to the confusion. It said frontline workers and people over the age of 60 are being vaccinated across Punjab.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s focal person on digital media Dr Arslan Khalid tried to dispel the confusion in a tweet, which said a fake message is circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp that anyone over 60 can walk in with an ID card and get vaccinated at Expo Center without waiting for the SMS code. There is “absolutely no reality to it and please don’t forward this fake message.”

However, a large number of walk-ins of above 60 years of age who visited the Expo Centre have been entertained. Their registration was done at the centre before they were vaccinated. There are other glitches in the vaccination drive as well. In a series of tweets, a woman echoed the general problems being faced by people. She said she registered her mother using the NIMS website. She got assigned a centre that was very far from her. She successfully changed the centre using the website to a private hospital. But it turned out there was no vaccination drive happening at that facility. Why is this listed as an option, she asked.

She wrote that her father is 75. He is diabetic. He was one of the first people to register for the vaccine when registrations were announced. “To date, we have received no code and no date for vaccination.” She is worried that the mere one million doses procured by the government will soon run out.

The woman tweeted that she was glad to hear that “the system is working for some but for those of us for whom the system is not working, there is absolutely no recourse. No place to seek help or info. 1166 is not helpful in this regard. They have no insight into the scheduling system or any problems with it.”

She wrote that “there is no place in this country to get support for scheduling issues for vaccine appointments. Nothing. We must live in fear and hope that one day the magical code and date will arrive. One day. Hope and fear are not the best crutches when your parents’ lives are at stake.”

It has been repeatedly noted by those accessing/talking to 1166 for assistance that the staff manning it are at a loss to give any specific answer about the change of centres. Elderly persons eager to get vaccinated are not being adequately entertained as many entitled persons are not being invited for inoculation.