Drive-through Covishield shots for ages 45+
NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar administration has planned a drive-through vaccination campaign in the city on Monday for persons in the 45+ age group, who are awaiting their second dose of Covishield vaccine.
“The drive has been planned at DLF Mall of India, Noida for Monday. It will also be conducted at the Shaheed Vijay Pathik Sports Stadium, Greater Noida later in the week. Persons whose second dose is pending can come in cars and get vaccinated at the drivethrough booth. Health department officials will administer the jabs,” said Suhas LY, district magistrate.
The drive does not require beneficiaries to book a slot. Those registered on the cowin.gov.in portal awaiting a second dose can walk-in from 10am till when the stock gets over, at the facility The vaccines will be administered at the parking token booth by health professionals.
However, only a limited number of vaccines will be administered during the drive, said officials.
“The exact number of doses to be administered has not been decided yet but it will be a limited number, as we first want to see how the drive goes,” said the DM.
The move was welcomed by residents.
“This drive will bring ease in vaccination experience for the seniors. It was long awaited. It will also help overcome fears of exposure to the infection, which was there in case of public health centres and private hospitals,” said Rajiva Singh, president, Noida federation of apartment owners associations.
The campaign has been organised in collaboration with a mobile app-based platform that will show the number of vaccines left on its app while the vaccination process is on.
“We do not want crowding at the vaccination site, hence the number of doses left during the drive will be displayed on the app, so that people can see and decide whether they will be able to get the jab or not,” said Amit Lakhotia, founder of mobile app Park+, that will also manage the crowd and logistics on ground during the drive.
Once a person has taken the shot, they will need to wait for 30 minutes in the parking area and put on the blinkers of their cars, in case they see any symptoms of adverse effects following immunization (AEFI).
On Friday, the district vaccinated a total of 5,662 people at government hospitals and health care centres.
Meanwhile, on Friday, 435 media persons got their shots in Noida at the Indira Gandhi Kala Kendra in Sector 6, under a special camp organised at the directives of the state government.
“The vaccination drive for journalists was started on May 10. So far, 2,264 media professionals have been administered the injections under it,” said Gunja Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.