VISAKHAPATNAM: Chaotic scenes were witnessed in many government hospitals as people made a mad rush for the second dose of the C-vaccine here on Thursday. District health authorities administered the vaccine in 160 PHCs in rural, tribal and urban areas in addition to 18 government hospitals here during the day.
Much of the rush and confusion prevailed in Government Regional Eye Hospital and Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium where at least 10,000 people might have taken the second dose. The serpentine, never-ending queues continued till afternoon.
Crowds began swelling from 8 am and the security personnel had a tough time putting them in order. In Regional Eye Hospital, tokens were given to the people but the people could not make out the purpose of it as they were not called in by the token numbers.
“I went to Eye Hospital at 8 am and stood in the queue that never moved ahead. Later, a security guard distributed tokens. Yet I stood in the queue and got my jab at 2 pm after a prolonged jostle with the crowd. People never maintained social distance though most of them wore masks,’’ said a 75-year-old former journalist from Hyderabad.
District medical and health officer Dr P. Suryanarayana said it was a panic rush by the people. “Due to misleading reports in the social media, people thought vaccines will disappear for good and there will be no second dose for them,’’ he said. Around 480 health workers were involved in administering the doses.
He said the district received 62,000 doses of Covaxin and Covieshield. Some 1,000 frontline warriors and health workers were given the first dose as they had missed the earlier call. Some
31,800 were given the second dose on Thursday and only 7,000 were left out. The remaining 20,000 doses would be given as second dose for the needy and if possible as first dose to the general public from Friday.
