A private hospital organised a Covid-19 vaccination drive for individuals with autism on Saturday, most of whom struggle to wait for long and get “anxious in a crowd”.

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital administered the first dose of Covishield to individuals with autism in the age group of 19 to 35 years from four centres in the city that work with such persons.

Waiting in a crowd, maintaining physical distance and masking up for hours is a challenge for individuals with autism, said those working with children and individuals with autism.

The two-hour window saved individuals with autism and their parents or guardians the hassle of waiting in long queues.

“After the government opened up the vaccination for those above 18, I wanted to get my son vaccinated. But I could not muster the courage to take him because of reports of long waiting time. I knew he would run out of patience and might take off his mask. But on Saturday the vaccination was done within an hour,” said mother Debjani Bhattacharya who accompanied her 19-year-old son.

The second shot will also be administered at the hospital, the authorities said.

But even among those who came on Saturday there were individuals who were resistant to take the shot. Extra effort had to be made for them, something that medical professionals said would be difficult in a regular set up.

“We know that many parents are extremely anxious to make their wards wait because they tend to get impatient. The disability makes them more vulnerable to infection because it is difficult for them to comprehend and maintain the Covid safety protocols,” said Jai Ranjan Ram, a psychiatrist at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

“If private or government centres can allot a separate time even once a week for individuals with disability, it will save them and their families a lot of hassle at a time of this crisis,” said Ram.

The hospital segregated an area for their vaccination with four separate billing counters for them, under the guidance of the vice-president of the hospital, Joy Basu.

Indrani Basu, the founder of Autism Society West Bengal said individuals with autism had a difficulty in comprehending or making an estimate of the time that would be required unlike individuals without disabilities.

“If there is no prior information as to how long they will have to wait it is confusing for them. There should be a provision for vaccinating people with disabilities and the elderly,” she said.

Indrani said there were individuals with disabilities who had tested positive for Covid-19 and the apprehension for many families was what if they had to be admitted to hospitals.

“Not many hospitals are equipped to handle people with disabilities who are Covid positive. If a patient is docile they are fine but if a patient is demanding or has a challenge in communication the medical workers lack the sensitivity in taking care of them,”she added.

Several families are also worried about keeping them “isolated” in case of an infection.

“We live in a two-room apartment and at times both my husband and I have to go out for work. We are living in constant fear because if we get infected we will be exposing him to it,” said a mother.

Indrani said many felt that people with disabilities don’t go out, so how would they get infected. “This needs to change.”