HYDERABAD: While the Covid-19 vaccination drive for those aged between 18-44 years is pegged to start from May 1, all vaccination centres in Telangana available on the CoWIN portal on Friday had the disclaimer that only those aged above 45 can book a slot. In fact, for even those aged above 45, only a few slots were available on Friday in PHCs in Hyderabad. Surprisingly, vaccine slots were available in Gandhi Hospital, which is presently a dedicated Covid-19 hospital. In fact, the hospital had close to 150 slots in a day, even though PHCs only had around 50.
Meanwhile, Apollo Hospitals announced on Friday that it will start a vaccination drive for the age group from May 1 across various places in the country, including Hyderabad. However, as on Friday night, the hospitals was not listed on theCoWIN portal. The hospital said that it will procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers.
DPH mulls separate vax centres for seniors
Director of Public Dr G Srinivasa Rao has assured that the State will soon have separate centres or a queue only for senior citizens seeking vaccinations. This was said by the DPH at a telephonic interaction session on All India Radio, Hyderabad where he took questions from the public on the ongoing pandemic.
“We understand that there is overcrowding due to the increase in testing. We assure that some solutions will be found and senior citizens and disabled individuals will be given priority. At present vaccines are in limited number and supply to all hospitals will be restored soon,” said Dr Rao. Several blind, physically handicapped individuals called to lodge their concerns.