A unique drive-through COVID-19 vaccination drive was held in a mall in Mahadevapura in Bengaluru on Saturday for people aged above 18. The organisers of the drive announced on Saturday morning that there were 1,120 registrations for the drive with 70% of them opting for the drive-through option, 20% opting for the walk-through option and 10% opting for the walk-in option. The drive was held at the Nexus Mall (previously called Forum Neighbourhood Mall) in Whitefield in Bengaluru and both the first and second doses of Covaxin were administered. Throughout the day, jabs were administered to people who arrived in cars, bikes or autos.
"Many of the apartments with 20 or 30 units besides individual houses were left out of the vaccine drives, so we thought we will organise a camp. We wanted it to be a drive-through camp and show that it can be simple, effective and risk-free, so people do not congregate in one spot," said Murali Govindarajulu, Ward Committee Member, Hagadur ward, who was part of organising the camp. "The main advantage is that the beneficiaries do not step out of the car at all. There is no risk for them or us," he added.
& the mass vaccine drive is off to a great start!
— Whitefield Rising (@WFRising) June 12, 2021
1000 registrations. 75% of whom opted for drive in. pic.twitter.com/cKUjgXGd9C
Vaccine drives in Mahadevapura, like in other parts of Bengaluru, have been held in partnership with resident welfare associations of apartments so far. "These (vaccine drives) left out smaller communities, unorganised layouts and individual housing units who could not muster up the minimum numbers (200 units and above) for private paid vaccinations. Thus, the plan was born to organise mass drive camps for the general public above the age of 18 by the Ward Committee members of Mahadevapura," a statement by the organisers said.
For those interested in conducting similar drive-through camps elsewhere, Murali says that they encountered a number of issues. "We had issues in reconciling the payment made by the beneficiary. There were also incorrect entries in the CoWin app and those in the 18+ category were showing up as 45+.Some others have come for their second dose after a period of 26 days (which is two days less than the gap recommended). People can verify all these at home," says Murali. He added that sufficient parking space is needed as vehicles may pile-up when the CoWin portal is experiencing issues.
Apart from a brief spell of rain, which prompted the organisers to shift the vaccine drive inside the mall, the event was held in a smooth fashion and more than 1,000 beneficiaries received the vaccine in just over seven hours. The organisers of the vaccine drive were community groups across Mahadevapura including Whitefield Rising, Nallurahalli Rising, Bellandur Forum, Belathur Rising, Namma Balagere, ForceGW among others. It was flagged off with the lighting of a lamp by Manoj Singh, cluster director, Nexus Mall. The vaccine was priced at Rs 1,410 per person and it was administered by nurses from ParkMed Hospital, a facility located in Bellandur in the city.