Dr.Reffai Dehiwala

Why is that the citizens are expected to stand in mile long queues whiel waiting for the vaccination? Aren’t we civilized enough to have better system for these people. Specially since the army, well trained in discipline is supervising the project and most fo the people standing in the hot sun, and moving at snail pace are our senior citizens?

I went for my second injection at Werahara Army hospital. I found the arrangement very well planned and executed methodically, by ample number of army officers attending,  except that – the people were standing in a queue in hot sun, while there were many tents put up which were not utilized and there were many chairs which were not utilized at all.

We often see queues of people. old and young, sick or with walkers, standing for miles and miles, waiting for this jab, and no one seems to mind or think better.

Why not follow a system where –

1.       People are given numbers as they come and asked to sit down on chairs under the tents

2.       If they are to be informed by SMS, give them a particular time to come in batches.

3.       Allow people to send someone and get a number for a particular time according to their convenience

4.       Once they are seated, call them one by one by the numbers and give the injections.

5.       People should not be asked to walk far soon after the injection to reach the observation tent. They may have a reaction on the way to the tent. Ideally the observation tent must be close ot the injection site.

We are living in this 21^st century and we are still behaving like cattle, uneducated, uncivilized people and the worst thing is, We, the citizens just take it without thinking or protesting.

When I pointed out this to the officers at Werahara, they said, Good idea but still carried on the same way letting old people to stand in queues for a long distance and move at snail’s pace.-

Dr.Reffai