Shifting vaccination sites to schools and colleges begins with a slow pace

Picture used for representational purpose only

It has been more than 10 days since the Karnataka government declared that vaccination centres will move out of government hospitals and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and will be conducted in schools and colleges, but only a few hospitals have done this till now.

Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan had highlighted the need to separate the people who are getting jabbed from those who come to hospitals for treatment or for testing. Some hospitals like KC General Hospital have shifted the vaccination centre to a nearby school but, most of them are yet to be shifted. Health Commissioner KV Trilok informed that the process has started. He said, “We are in the processing of figuring the logistics and finding vaccination sites outside health care centres.”

Citizens and health workers are anxious about the contract of infection during the time of vaccination as this has been reported in many vaccination sites in hospitals. Those who are yet to take their second dose are waiting for the hospitals and PHCs to shift outside.

“I need to get my second shot soon, but my family is asking me to wait as the number of cases are high and they do not want me to enter a hospital right now”, said Namrata K, a private company employee.

Staff at the government hospitals are also in the hope that the government will not delay the shift. He said, “Our hospital also has COVID-19 patients, but a large part of our time and energy is spent on the vaccination process. People who are not able to get vaccinated create a lot of chaos and there are clashes at the hospital. If the vaccination drive is moved out of the hospital, we will be able to treat COVID-19 patients better.”

Officials with the Department of Health and Family Welfare said, “We will ask hospitals to contact schools and colleges in their vicinity and conduct vaccination camps there. This will also ensure that nurses and other staff do not have to commute long distances and vaccines can be transported safely from the hospital.”