THIS is with reference to a leading public hospital in Karachi where adult vaccination is ongoing and in an organised manner; credit goes to all who are working towards it. However, along with the good comes the bad. There was a lot of hue and cry, and rightly so, about the almost 1,400 missing vaccine doses in Lahore that had been part of the donations Pakistan is receiving. Then rose the issue of MNAs and MPAs getting friends and family vaccinated.

Something similar is going on in Karachi, at the said leading hospital where the administrator is a gung-ho person whom I admired till recently for being a disciplined soul. Families of so-called VIPs, politicians, legal fraternity and friends have all taken the vaccine regardless of age at this particular health facility.

They have even gotten their staff vaccinated. How do I know? All thanks to social media and, indeed, the proverbial horse’s mouth. They are openly bragging about how they just walked in and were obliged by this ‘brave person’.

And since most of them happened to be underage, I wonder how they went about the official registration process; maybe they have contacts there as well. Is the Sindh government awake?

I am complaining because my parents aged 55-60 years have to wait for their turn while the big shots’ children under 45 have been accommodated. Will we ever change?

Ayesha Khan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2021