CUTTACK: The State government's decision to ramp up the vaccination drive by allowing people to register on the spot came as a relief for Bijaya Bhusan Panda of Patasura village in Nischintkoili block who had been trying to book a slot online on his neighbour's smartphone for the last 15 days.
But the joy of Bijaya and his wife was short lived as the couple had to hop from one vaccination centre to another before returning home without getting inoculated on Monday. The couple hired an auto-rickshaw and reached Nischintkoili CHC where they were told by the staff that the vaccination centre was shifted to Buhalo gram panchayat office.
Both then went to the office but were dejected to learn that the walk-in registration slots were over for the day. As per the advice of some staff at the office, the couple then went to Nagaspur CHC and then to Orti PHC but faced similar problems. In the end they returned home. "Moving from one vaccination site to another in a hired vehicle during lockdown is a herculean task. We are unsure when we will be able to get vaccinated," said the couple.
This is not an isolated case. Like Bijaya, several people residing in villages across 14 blocks of the district are facing similar issues due to absence of information regarding vaccination schedule and venues. Neither health officials nor the local ASHA and anganwadi workers are informing people in their areas about the administration’s vaccination programme.
Sources said that the State government had instructed the officials concerned to conduct at least five vaccination sessions in each block from Monday. But in Nischintkoili, only three sessions were conducted on the day.
Medical officer in-charge of Nischintkoili CHC, Dr Amit Jena said the vaccination programme is being conducted at CHCs and PHCs in the block on alternate days. He declined to comment on why people are not being informed about the schedule and venues.
Shifting the blame to the district vaccination in-charge, District Covid Nodal Officer, Dr Umesh Ray said 18,000 beneficiaries were inoculated in rural areas of Cuttack on Monday.