High-risk groups in State seek priority in vaccination drive

For senior citizens, two main concerns are that of side-effects and logistical issues. According to V Chandrashekar, president of the Senior Citizens’ Group of Besant Nagar, many of them are unclear about the side-effects of the vaccination on the elderly, and rue the lack of clarity on it. A few reports on side-effects being seen in recipients have caused a lot of concern among the elderly, he said. 

“We also worry about logistics. Many of us live alone and cannot rely on public transport due to safety concerns. Some cannot travel due to health issues. We request the government to introduce at-home vaccination measures for the elderly after conducting some sort of audit so that we are able to receive the vaccine easily,” he said. 

Other at-risk groups are also considering taking the vaccination immediately after it is available to the public. According to Prashanth Mani, founder-president of the Tamil Nadu Type1 Diabetes Foundation, those with diabetes continue to fear leaving their homes though the infection spread is coming down in the city and State. Many have told him that they were considering taking the vaccine immediately to return to some sense of normalcy, he said. 

“We are drafting a letter to the authorities seeking to include people with Type 1 Diabetes as a high-risk group who should receive priority. As an invisible illness, there is much misunderstanding about diabetes and we hope that this does not affect our chances for vaccination,” he said. Meanwhile, members of disability rights groups rue about them not being considered as a high-risk category.