COVID-19 vaccination drive: Senior citizens complain of mismanagement

PESHAWAR: Senior citizens and their family members have complained of mismanagement in the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to them, elderly people living in Peshawar were assigned distant health centres in rural areas of the district for vaccination.

They said those living in Hayatabad were directed to visit the health facility at Badaber, while the residents of the University Town were asked to reach Naguman for the purpose.

“My father-in-law had no idea how to go to Badaber but then managed and was facilitated by other relatives. When they reached the respective Rural Health Centre, the staff had neither any clue about the schedule nor did they have the vaccine,” said a resident of University Town.

Pleading anonymity, he said it was difficult for seniors to go to places like Badaber and Naguman for vaccination.

They accused the health department and other relevant officials of creating hardships for the elderly people, adding the government had not provided vaccines to these health centres in suburbs of Peshawar but sent elderly people there.

In Badaber, according to the residents of University Town, staff of the RHC told their relatives that they had neither received vaccine nor did they have the internet facility to confirm if they would vaccinate senior citizens.

They tried to seek attention of the relevant authorities and wanted to approach Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra but couldn’t succeed.

The seniors can wait for a few days or a week as long as proper arrangements are made at the vaccine administering sites.

Appointments should be made in hospitals near home addresses as listed in NADRA database.

“The people of Hayatabad should be vaccinated in the Hayatabad Medical Complex, the residents of University Town in the Khyber Teaching Hospital and those living in the city should be called to the Lady Reading Hospital,” suggested an elderly resident of Hayatabad.