Gurgaon Covid task force stops round-the-clock jabs at five hospitals, citing low turnout

The round-the-clock vaccination service — at one government hospital and four private hospitals — was launched on Monday. However, the district task force decided to put an end to it saying the public response “has not been very encouraging”.

Five days after five hospitals in Gurgaon began offering Coronavirus vaccinations round the clock, the district task force formed for managing the pandemic decided to stop the facility starting April 1, citing low turnout of beneficiaries for vaccination during the night session. The decision was taken at a meeting on Thursday.

Chairing the meeting, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) also announced that hospitals in the district can now administer vaccines for 12 hours a day, up from eight hours which was the practice so far.

He added that private hospitals would now be permitted to tie up with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to carry out vaccination drives.

The round-the-clock vaccination service — at one government hospital and four private hospitals — was launched on Monday. However, the district task force decided to put an end to it saying the public response “has not been very encouraging”.

“The hospitals that were permitted to administer Coronavirus vaccines round the clock should not give any appointments to people for the night session after March 31,” said CMO Dr Virender Yadav.

On whether any call was taken on the vaccination hours, an official said 13 hospitals in the district will now offer the jab between 8 am and 8 pm, while others will be permitted to do so as well.

Speaking at the meeting, the CMO said, “An increase in Coronavirus cases is being seen in the district. The positivity rate has also increased to 3 percent. This pandemic can be stopped from spreading only through herd immunity, for which it is important for everyone to get vaccinated…if private hospitals want, they can coordinate with the RWAs associated with group housing societies and condominiums and carry out vaccination drives in their areas but vaccination centres, observation room and other provisions must be arranged as per rules.”

The CMO also directed representatives of hospitals to begin testing their employees once again, stating, “now the formula of test, track, and isolation has been changed to test, track and treat”.

Vaccination centres have been set up at 100 government hospitals and health centres, as well as 56 private hospitals in Gurgaon. Vaccines are being administered at a total 156 centres currently.

Gurgaon has seen a consistent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases this month. On Thursday, the district recorded its highest count of new cases in almost three months, with 104 people testing positive.

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