Hospitals to start vaccination camps in condos, societies from today
Gurugram Several private hospitals of the city will be holding Covid-19 vaccination camps in condominiums and gated societies from Sunday onwards to facilitate people above 60 years and those aged between 45 to 59 years with co-morbidities to take their vaccine shot
Gurugram
Several private hospitals of the city will be holding Covid-19 vaccination camps in condominiums and gated societies from Sunday onwards to facilitate people above 60 years and those aged between 45 to 59 years with co-morbidities to take their vaccine shot.
The health department has permitted private hospitals to hold vaccination drive in coordination with Resident Welfare Association (RWA) to increase the vaccination coverage by reaching out to senior citizens and physically disabled people who have been facing difficulties to visit hospitals to get the vaccine dose.
“The hospital has already done a dry run at a community centre in Ansal Sushant Estate, sector 52 on Saturday, where we vaccinated 50 people. It will help us in extending the vaccination camp to multiple RWAs and scaling up the drive from next week onwards,” said Dr Ritu Garg, zonal director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
Following the Covid-19 vaccination guidelines, hospitals will be setting up separate rooms for vaccination and observation in clubs, within the premises of condominiums and apartments. In some cases, community centres will be used to set up vaccination camps. As per norms, vaccine beneficiaries will pay ₹250 for a dose and on spot registration can be done by showing ID proof.
“We have contacted 30-40 RWA committees. They have all given us positive feedback about the onsite vaccination initiative, especially for the elderly. We are working on the logistics of sending our team of nurses and doctors to the RWAs,” said Arpita Mukherjee, vice president operations and head, Max Super specialty Hospital, Gurugram.
At Vatika India Next Township, sector 83, the preparation has already begun where vaccination camp will be set up on March 23 and 24 from 9am to 4pm. “Arrangements are being made at the club house, within the township as per the vaccination guidelines. There are over 30,000 residents, out of which more than 1,000 are senior citizens and about 10,000 are above the age of 45 . Since Saturday morning, at least 375 people have already registered for the March 23 vaccination camp,” said Ajay Kumar Singh, president, Enviro.
According to Singh, in order to streamline the vaccination while maintaining social distancing, at least 20 people will be given vaccine jabs every hour. “Gatherings or queues will be prevented. In a day only 500 people will be vaccinated. To cover the identified population group, we are planning to extend the vaccination camp further,” said Singh.
The expansion of vaccination to residential societies will also help in expediting the vaccination coverage, which has been gradually declining in private facilities due to multiple factors.
“There has been gradual decline in overall turnout in hospitals for vaccination as people are a little reluctant of visiting hospitals for the fear of contracting the virus. Some people are finding it difficult to bring their parents to vaccination sites due to their office hours. Vaccination camps with the help of RWAs will help us in addressing these issues and increase coverage,” said Dr Sushila Kataria, internal medicine specialist, Medanta Hospital.
She said, “The hospital will conduct the first drive on Sunday at two societies. It will be extended to at least 10 camps on March 22 as a part of a mega camp by the district health department.”
According to hospitals, to retain the quality of vaccine — which requires to be stored at a temperature between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius — a proper cold chain supply will be maintained. “Vaccine vials will be kept in ice boxes and just enough stocks will be kept at the site. Since the main hospital is located within the city, vaccine doses will be transferred to the camp if the stock gets over early,” said Garg.