Slow start to shifting vaccination sites to schools and colleges

It has been over 10 days since government announcement

Although it has been over 10 days since the State government announced that vaccination drives will move out of government hospitals and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and instead be held on the premises of schools and colleges, only a few hospitals have done so to date. At the time of announcing the decision, Deputy Chief Minister C. N. Ashwath Narayan had underscored the need to separate people due for their shot from patients visiting the hospital for treatment or testing. A few hospitals, like K.C. General Hospital, have shifted the vaccination site to a nearby school, but a majority have yet to make the transition. Health Commissioner K.V. Thrilok Chandra said that the process has begun. “We are in the processing of figuring the logistics and finding vaccination sites outside health care centres,” he said. Citizens as well as healthcare workers are worried about the risk of cross-infection, which has been reported at vaccination sites in hospitals. Many who are due for their second shot are waiting for more vaccinate sites to be set up outside government hospitals and PHC.