Bandra, Khar and Santacruz residents are set to launch a mass two days COVID-19 vaccination drive on June 26 and 27, where as many as 5,000 beneficiaries will be inoculated.
The drive has been jointly arranged by non-governmental organisations and citizen's associations - Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF), I Love Mumbai Foundation (ILMF), Bandra Khar Santacruz Citizen's Forum (BKSCF), Mumbai Dhadkan and Executive Enclave hotels.
Members of these associations have said that the primary objective behind this drive is to inoculate as many underprivileged beneficiaries as possible. Podar International School has given its premises to conduct the drive and the money for the vaccines has been raised through donations.
Aditya Agarwal, managing director of 'Healing Salve - Passion for Caring, has sponsored the price for 5,000 vaccines that will be administered on the days of the drive. Also, the idea of the drive has been conceived by Agarwal. "Our organisation has been working towards making medical facilities affordable. Now that the distribution of vaccines has been a problem, many people are not getting their doses on time. So, we decided to step in and help in whatever way possible," Agarwal said.
Rahul Rohra, owner of Executive Enclave hotels, which is also the hospitality partner, has said that options for both walk-in and pre-registration will be available in drive. "After 2pm, we will be allowing walk-in vaccinations at the centres. The beneficiaries can also pre-book their slots online at bookmyshow.com using their Co-WIN reference number in case they are coming in the morning," Rohra said.
Trivankumar Karnani, founder and spokesperson of MNCDF, said that the drive is not just limited to the underprivileged. "We have made the vaccines free only for the underprivileged people. The rest will have to pay Rs 780 per dose," Karnani said.
Kumar Nichani, founder and spokesperson of BKSCF, has said that spreading awareness regarding the vaccines amongst the people has been an issue, as many people are still apprehensive. "We are working towards getting people together on the day of the drive. We have also helped the organisers get the vaccines and at the same time make people understand why vaccination is important," said Nichani.
