More than 2,000 Bandra residents took their dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in a three-day long vaccination drive organised by Salsette Catholic Cooperative Housing Society Limited (SCCHSL) in Bandra (West).
Members of the 103-year-old society said that the drive was not restricted to in-house residents, but also for those residing in the neighbourhood. The drive started on Saturday and ended on Monday afternoon. Over three days, a total of 2,140 beneficiaries above the age of 18 years took their dose. They had to pay Rs 850 for each dose. The society had tied up with a private hospital for the vaccination camp, which was held inside the community recreation centre. The two halls inside the centre had a capacity to accommodate 120 queued beneficiaries each at a time.
Cornel Gonsalves, secretary of SCCHS, said that, one week before the drive, a registration desk was set up. Volunteers helped beneficiaries to get themselves registered. In return, each of the registered beneficiaries were given a token that had an allotted time slot. Gonsalves said that allotting time slots to the beneficiaries helped them in crowd management. "Over three days, more than 2,000 beneficiaries took their doses. Of these, only 533 members belonged to the society. We were able to inoculate 600 to 700 beneficiaries each day," Gonsalves said.
Special arrangements were made at the centre for senior citizens above the age of 90 years. They received their dose while sitting inside their car, like the special drive-in centres that were introduced in the city.
"This was done as a courtesy, as they are old and it would be inconvenient for them to walk to the centre and wait. So, they just stopped their car outside the centre and received their dose without getting out," said Gonsalves. He said a total of 12 beneficiaries were vaccinated while they were in the car.
Mario Fishery, member of Advanced Locality Management (ALM) group in Bandra, said that the idea behind this drive was to vaccinate more residents of the neighbourhood. "The information of the vaccination drive being arranged was spread through newsletters and social media," Fishery said. The drive was inaugurated and supported by senior Congress politician and former Bandra legislator Baba Siddiquei.
