A chaotic situation was created at the city’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital on Saturday as thousands of jab-seekers turned up overwhelming its medical staff.
Nearly 4,000 vaccine seekers, including men and women, were seen waiting in queues in the corridors of its first and second floors with the vaccination going on at a snail’s pace.
Outraged by the “mismanagement”, the vaccine seekers said the situation turned worse as there was no arrangement for women to stand in any separate queue.
Tired of the long wait in the queue, the irate crowds got involved in quarrels with Ansar personnel and the hospital staff.
Some of them were seen trying to push each other to enter the vaccination rooms venting their anger amid chaos.
Inside the vaccination rooms, it was found that only two to three nurses were providing shots while another two or three medical staff checking vaccination registration papers. They had to struggle a lot to cope with the situation for lack of manpower.
About the situation, Prof Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, Vice Principal of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital said the vaccine centre was originally designated for Bangladeshi expatriates before being selected for the mass vaccination, too. “As a result, the hospital had to face an extra pressure,” he said.
He said the centre sent messages to 1,000 people inviting them to take vaccine shots. “But about 4,000 have come to receive that from this hospital. This hospital has also been dealing with 500 Covid-19 patients besides the vaccination. It’s a huge pressure”
He noted that the centre is providing different brands of vaccines like AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Moderna and Pfizer.
“So, we’ve to provide the shots very carefully choosing the right brands as some people are coming for the first dose while some are for the second ones,” he added.
Source: United News of Bangladesh