Demanding a roadmap to inoculate the eligible masses and White Paper on vaccination mission, the MLA said the government should set target to vaccinate them within a month
TFM Desk
Vowing to extend all possible cooperation to the state government’s ongoing fight against the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, Thangmeiband assembly constituency MLA Khumukcham Joykishan on Tuesday pointed out several loopholes in the state’s measures to meet the challenges.
Saying that second wave of pandemic left the masses in intense fear and despair causing stress and anxiety, Joykishan questioned the logic for putting cap on number of shots at each vaccination centre. At a time when the vaccination process should be done on war footing to inoculate the maximum population, it remains tardy and insufficient, he added.
At the current speed, inoculating people of 45 years and above with two doses will take for months, he said. There are over 15,000 people, who are above 45 years and are yet to be vaccinated, in Thangmeiband Assembly segment. Only one vaccination centre is operating in the constituency to inoculate these 15,000 people. If only 150 shots are served in a day, then it will take four months to give first dose of vaccine and eight months for the second dose, he said.
He wondered how the state government will roll out vaccination programme for people who are of 18 years and above. In the ongoing pace, it will take more than one and half years, he added. Asking whether the state is facing vaccine shortage or financial difficulties to procure the vaccines, Joykishan demanded transparency and put clear details to the public. If the state is having financial issue to procure the vaccine shots, people in Thangmeiband constituency are ready for crowd funding, he added.
Demanding a roadmap to inoculate the eligible masses and White Paper on vaccination mission, he said the government should set target to complete the whole vaccination programme within a month. People cannot afford to wait for more than a year for their inoculation as death toll due to coronavirus infection is surging daily, he added.
Besides there are reports that some assembly segments have two three vaccination centres, some do not have even a single vaccination centre, he said, questioning the transparency of the state medical department. He urged the government to open a website solely for vaccination programme and update all the information and data on real-time basis.
Joykishan also said that as per experts, contact tracing is a key to fight covid-19 pandemic. “In the first wave, the state government was proactive in this front. The medical teams visited and conducted tests on the spot. Those who were found infected were either kept under home isolation or shifted to covid care centre or hospital with hour,” he said.
However, such proactiveness could be witnessed in this second wave, he claimed. The spiraling covid-19 cases in the state indicated total failure of the state government in contact tracing, he alleged. In Thangmeiband constituency, there are many who suspected themselves to have come into contact with covid positive persons. They urged the medical department to conduct the test to ascertain their status but in vain, he said.
Saying that the medical department expressed their helplessness due large requests, Joykishan asked why government hospitals are facing shortage of testing kits and equipment while private ones can ensure their availability. As the government has recruited several doctors on contract basis, he suggested the government to ensure mass testing by sending several teams of doctor and nurses.
Alleging many unreported covid deaths, the MLA urged the government to set up an enquiry panel to investigate all deaths by questioning their families. It will expose how difficult to get a bed in a hospital in critical hours as no patient can be admitted without the recommendation from the admission committee, he said.
Claiming that it takes four five hours for him to communicate with the committee, Joykishan said the committee is beyond reach of common people. Narrating his hand on experience, the MLA said 13 infections were detected during the testing conducted at Thau Ground.
Seven positive patients were shifted to Bal Bavan covid care centre. However, they were not let in by NSU authority as there is no recommendation from the committee. The patients, who should be given immediate medical care, were left waiting at gate without even food, he added.
Alleging that admission committee is total failure and causes more death, the MLA said the committee delayed process of hospital admission for at least one hour leading to death of patients.
Joykishan also urged the government to rationalize the private hospitals’ bill for covid patient as they are charging in lakhs for treatment.
Appealing to the government not to leave any patient unattended, the MLA suggested procuring more ambulances if there is shortage. “We can also hire all the school vans lying unused due to the pandemic and impart basic training to the drivers in handling ambulance,” he said
The MLA further said the government can’t resort to hit and trial method, instead it should invest all the resources to fight coronavirus.