Day of 2 firsts: Vax bus, jabs at metro station

Gurgaon: As many as 220 session sites were set up on Thursday to administer 50,000 jabs in Gurgaon as the Haryana government looks to step up the pace of vaccinations this month. By the end of the day, 51,241 doses had been given.
A permanent walk-in vaccination camp was set up from 9am to 5pm at Huda City Centre metro station, where anyone aged above 18 can get jabs free of cost. No pre-registration is required. A special vaccine bus was also launched on the day and visited a slum in Tigra to inoculate people. It is set to become a permanent feature at urban slums.
Despite the heat and the humidity, people started queuing up early on at the metro station. A total of 333 recipients were vaccinated -- 317 with first doses and 16 with second. Many said the process was smooth and streamlined and that such camps are the need of the hour.
“It is not easy for everyone to travel to a hospital or a government school. A metro station is much more convenient,” said Divya Sethi (54), a resident of Sector 45. Mahesh Singh (32), a resident of Sector 30, also described it as a “good initiative”.
“We started the camp on Doctors’ Day. It’s a permanent site where people can get jabs on a first-come, first-serve basis. Depending on the supply, we will increase the slots,” said Gurgaon chief medical officer Virender Yadav.
“The space is adequate and fulfils all parameters of a Covid vaccination centre (CVC). We have a team for AEFI cases at the site and an ambulance is on standby. The CVC is linked with the nearest government hospital,” he added.
DMRC managing director Mangu Singh said, “This is the first-of-its-kind vaccination camp at the metro station. We will share this idea with other units and hope the initiative can be mirrored in other parts of the country.”
At the Tigra slum, the health department carried out 186 vaccinations. The initial target was 100. All recipients were given the first dose of Covishield. The jhuggi cluster in Tigra has 750 houses, with 3,000 people aged above 18.
Two ANMs and one observation staff were present at the site. The recipients were observed at their homes for 30 minutes. An AEFI room was created inside the bus to handle any emergencies.
“Our teams have been visiting the slums and spreading awareness about vaccines. The bus will go to various locations to cover urban slums,” said Dr Aman, urban nodal officer for immunisation, Gurgaon.
“I was afraid initially, but then saw many people taking the jab. Doctors had also visited earlier to explain about the disease,” said Bablu (23), a local.