Felt like Ma Durga armed with a vaccine in hand: Mumbai's Covid warrior

Though it was quite a hectic day for the vaccinators who were mostly nurses attached to the vaccination centres, they were overjoyed. Most of the nurses have witnessed the pandemic very closely either while taking care of Covid-19 patients in hospitals or have seen the spread of the infection among their family members. Around 50 vaccinators were deployed at the 10 vaccination centres across the city, most of them have closely witnessed the deadly outbreak of the virus very closely while taking care of the Covid-19 patients in hospitals.

Sneha Santosh Sheramkar, one of the vaccinators stationed at KEM hospital said they are feeling very proud to be part of the biggest vaccination drive against coronavirus which has not only ruined their last year but also many people died of it. “We were eagerly waiting for the covid-19 vaccines which are now in our hands. Moreover, I felt like the Ma Durga, weaponed with Covid-19 vaccine in my hand,” she said.

One of the vaccinators attached to the vaccination centre at JJ hospital said they feel like they have won a fight against the coronavirus by being appointed as the vaccinators for this immunisation drive. Moreover, she has closely witnessed coronavirus at her home as last year her husband had contracted the virus and was admitted to the ICU for five days. “It's very hard to believe when your close ones have contracted the infection and those days are unforgettable when I had to work and my husband was admitted to ICU due to covid-19. But now we have won the battle as vaccines have arrived and we are inoculating it to our colleagues which will protect them from this dreadful virus,” she said.

The vaccinators were quite thrilled and excited to provide vaccines to the HCWs due to some visits to the temples before going to the immunization centre.

Though the vaccinators have years of experience in inoculating lakhs of children between the age of 0-5 years, they were given training by the health department before starting the mass immunization programme.

Shweta Rane from Shatabdi Hospital said, “Along with this, we have also been trained how to identify and take care of beneficiaries if they develop any kind of adverse reaction like allergy or dizziness. We have also been trained in how to answer the queries of beneficiaries.”