A mass vaccination center located in the F-9 Park is said to have been closed at the insistence of some influential individuals who had objected to the frequent visits of ‘lower and lower middle class people'.
An official from the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), who chose to speak to Dawn on the condition of anonymity, stated that some 'influential people were not comfortable with the class of people that used to visit it daily.'
"A large number of people who come to the MVC [Mass Vaccination Center] belong to lower and lower middle class and they stare at women and litter. Bureaucrats were not happy with the situation and were of the view that MVC should not be in the park,” the official continued.
The center had the capacity to vaccinate between 7,000 to 10,000 people a day.
In response to the allegations, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan said that the center's closure was an administrative decision.
“It is not correct information that the F-9 Park center was closed because of pressure of those who go there for walks,” Dr. Sultan said.
At the same time, coronavirus cases in Islamabad continue to spike as the fifth-wave descends upon the capital city. The positivity ratio in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were recorded at 1.07 per cent and 1.4 per cent in the last 24 hours.
When the vaccination first opened in May 2021, the Office of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad heralded the new site, where it planned to, "vaccinate entire Islamabad in the next few months in sha Allah."
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