At Mettupalayam, wait for vaccine is 12 hours and more

N. Rangasamy from Bharat Bhavan road at Mettupalayam had a sigh of relief on Saturday morning as he was among the first ones to get tokens for the COVID-19 vaccination drive held at the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) there.

The 78-year-old man was among the 100-odd people who formed a queue in front of the UPHC as early as 6 p.m. on Friday for the tokens to be issued around 14 hours later.

Most of them came with water, food, mat and shawls to pass the night and save themselves from the swarms of mosquitoes.

“I have stood in queues nine times and returned without getting a token. I got vaccinated on Saturday in my 10th attempt. My wait did not go in vain this time,” said an elated Mr. Rangasamy.

Volunteers and relatives visited those in the queue at night to serve tea and snacks. The queue had more than 300 people by Saturday morning and not everyone got tokens for as the UPHC was allotted only 200 doses of a vaccine.

S. Basha, organiser of Namma Mettupalayam Social Welfare Committee, said the drive held at the PHC on Saturday was after a week and the allotment was very low.

“This is the only government-run vaccination centre for 33 wards in Mettupalayam Municipal Corporation. Considering the demand for vaccines and to avoid people waiting for long hours for tokens, the Health Department should start camps in schools and allot more doses,” he said.

Residents from Mettupalayam also allege that smaller places like Karamadai were getting more doses of vaccine for camps held at frequent intervals.

“It is sad to see elderly people waiting in the queue for more than 10 hours for the vaccine. Residents want the Department to conduct camps regularly and allot more doses,” said B. Samuel, 35, who has been volunteering various works for those affected by COVID-19 and at the Government Hospital, Mettupalayam.

An official from the Health Department said that the issue has come to its attention and more doses of vaccines will be allotted to Mettupalayam in the coming days.

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