Kolkata gets its first drive-in vaccination centre today
Kolkata is all set to get its first drive-in vaccination centre today. The centre will start inoculating people from Friday after the announcement was made a few days ago.
The drive-in vaccination centre is located at the Quest Mall, situated on Syed Amir Ali Avenue at Beck Bagan in Park Circus area. The mall is spread across approximately 700,000 square feet and has parking capacity for about 1,300 vehicles.
The initiative has been taken by the city's civic body Kolkata Municipal Corporation. To use this facility to get jabs, Kolkata residents above 45 years of age need to book their slots through the WhatsApp bot of the civic body. The bookings for today's slot began on Thursday, the State e-Governance Mission Team (SeMT) official said.
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The bookings can be done by sending a message to WhatsApp number 83359 99000. According to the SeMT officials, pre-registration on the CoWIN portal is mandatory for booking through WhatsApp.
Unlike most other cities, this drive-in vaccination centre will not allow two- or three-wheelers to enter the premises. It has stated that only four-wheelers, with not more than four occupants will be allowed at the centre.
One also needs to share car details to get a slot booked at this drive-in vaccination centre. No changes in the vehicle details will be allowed after a booking is done.
Once slots are booked, the vehicles will be allowed to enter the premises only half an hour before the scheduled time for vaccination. Vehicles will not be allowed to enter if anyone misses the time slot for the jab.
Drive-in vaccination centres have become one of the more popular ways, besides hospitals, to get the Covid-19 jabs. The initiative was first taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai last month. Later, several other cities like Delhi, Nagpur, Indore, Panchkula, Gurugram, have initiated similar moves.
These vaccination centres allow people to wait inside their vehicles while they get their jabs. It helps to completely scrap any chances of queues to avoid crowding and maintains Covid-19 protocols. People are also asked to sit in the comfort of their cars during the mandatory observation period of 30 minutes after vaccination.
