KARACHI: Dr Abdullah Muttaqi, president of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association, said on Monday that the growing rush and overcrowding at vaccination centers could increase the spread of Coronavirus.
Prof. Abdullah Muttaqi urged the government to significantly increase the number of vaccination centers and open all the vaccination centers in the city for 24 hours instead of merely extending the working hours of specific vaccination centers. Extending working hours is a practical solution to reduce congestion at vaccination centers.
He further said that the rush at Covid vaccination centers is due to the deadline given for blocking SIMs and withholding salaries. He suggested that the government should either withdraw or extend the deadline. He said that the pressure on the vaccination centers is getting out of control and as a result of this congestion, implementation of Corona SOPs is not possible. It is quite likely that this will further increase the rate of Coronavirus transmission.
He also appealed to the people to get vaccinated as soon as possible and implement SOPs to avoid drastic measures like lockdown, economic hardship, and disease from getting infected and hospitalization. Furthermore, he urged citizens to act responsibly in this regard and follow the medical community’s advice. He also demanded that the Sindh government rectify the shortcomings in the vaccination process to make vaccination easy and accessible to everyone.