No walk-in facility for second dose of Covid vaccine at CHC Bhangel

Though Saturday was reserved for second dose of Covid vaccine in Uttar Pradesh, the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Bhangel in Gautam Budh Nagar turned away hundreds of people looking for walk-in vaccination for second dose due to a limited supply of vaccines

Though Saturday was reserved for second dose of Covid vaccine in Uttar Pradesh, the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Bhangel in Gautam Budh Nagar turned away hundreds of people looking for walk-in vaccination for second dose due to a limited supply of vaccines.

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CHC Bhangel caters to a large population of Noida villages and urban sectors, including sectors 104, 110, 108, 137, 82, 93, 47 and 44.

“The centre is near my residence. When I could not find a slot for second dose online, I reached the centre at 11am for walk-in vaccination. However, there was already a huge crowd at the centre for walk-in vaccination and people were being turned away as only those who had booked slots online were getting the second dose,” said Devesh Chaturvedi, a resident of Lotus Panache in Sector 104.

Officials said that as the centre opened at 10am, at least 500 people came for walk-in vaccinations.

“Till 1pm, we turned away at least 500 people as we did not have walk-in slots for the second dose. The health department had provided us with 350 doses of vaccines, including 150 for second dose. The doses were for beneficiaries who booked slots online,” said Dr Yatendra Singh, medical superintendent at CHC Bhangel.

Dr Neeraj Tyagi, GB Nagar district immunisation officer, said that CHC Bhangel was the only government Covid vaccination centre (CVC) in the district that was not given walk-in slots for second dose.

“With a limited number of vaccines, we try to divide the stock among all CVCs as per the demand and population they cater to. CHC Bhangel is the only one where walk-in slots were not opened on Saturday for second dose. Often 100% of beneficiaries who book their slots online do not turn up. So, by 1pm, we get an idea of how many vaccines are left, and after that we open the walk-in slots,” said Dr Tyagi.

Later in the day, 50 slots were opened for walk-in vaccination of second dose at CHC Bhangel, said Dr Singh.

Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, GB Nagar chief medical officer, said, “The walk-in slots for second dose were later opened after it was reported to the department that a number of walk-in beneficiaries were coming to the centre for second dose.”

GB Nagar administered a total of 7,521 jabs on Saturday, of which 786 were first doses and 6,735 second doses, the officials said, adding that the vaccinations were carried out at 23 government CVCs.

Child PGI hospital in Sector 30 renamed

The Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI) in Noida’s Sector 30, commonly known as Child PGI, has been renamed as the Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida.

“We had submitted an application to the Uttar Pradesh administration to rename the institute as the name was very long. The application has been approved and the changes are effective from today,” said Dr Akash Raj, medical superintendent at the hospital.