Campus hospital fails to get doses, IIT-Bombay to start paid vaccine drive for students

Despite registering as a government vaccination centre for Covid-19, the hospital on campus at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has not been able to procure vaccine doses for its students on campus

Despite registering as a government vaccination centre for Covid-19, the hospital on campus at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has not been able to procure vaccine doses for its students on campus. The institute is now planning to hold a vaccination drive with the help of private hospitals.

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Following requests from students for a vaccination drive on campus, the institute’s hospital registered as a government centre to inoculate the students for free. However, with no doses available to the hospital, a workplace vaccination drive is being planned where students have to pay ₹1,000 plus taxes, much to the disappointment of students.

“We have been in touch with many private hospitals, but most were not ready for a workplace vaccination drive, and this is the best quote we could get. At the moment we are collecting names of people who want to participate in this drive. The goal is to vaccinate as many students and other campus residents as possible,” said S Sudarshan, deputy director, IIT-Bombay.

Students, on the other hand, are not happy about the pricing of the vaccine. “We will end up paying more than ₹2,000 for two doses. That’s a lot for students,” said a PhD scholar on the condition of anonymity. Currently, there are around 3,000 students on campus.

Students are wary of going to vaccine centres outside campus, as IIT-B imposes strict quarantine rules on anybody stepping out of campus and returning.

“These strict rules discourage students from going out and getting a free vaccine from a civic-run centre. One must undergo a 14-day quarantine after returning from their shot,” said another student.

The institute, meanwhile, is worried that once the price capping of Covid-19 vaccines comes into force from June 21, private hospitals may not find it feasible to run a workplace drive

Sudarshan said mandatory quarantine was imposed after staff members and a student returned from crowded vaccine centres and tested positive for the virus. “If one student contracts the disease, an entire wing of a hostel has to be sealed. If there are five cases, the whole hostel building has to be sealed. The risk of students catching the virus and spreading it is too great to take, hence quarantine rules have been in place,” said Sudarshan.

The institute, meanwhile, is worried that once the price capping of Covid-19 vaccines comes into force from June 21, private hospitals may not find it feasible to run a workplace drive. A senior official said the institute is encouraging more students to get vaccinated in the inoculation drive planned next week.

“Students and research scholars have been cooped up in the campus for almost six months now. Movement in and out of the campus is restricted. It has started affecting the mental health of students,” said another student.