Mumbai's first drive-in vaccination centre opens in Dadar

Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started the city's first drive-in vaccination facility where specially abled people and senior citizens will be administered vaccine doses against coronavirus in their own vehicles.

The drive-in vaccination facility has been started in the city's multi-storey Kohinoor public parking lot on JK Sawant Marg, near Shivaji Park in Dadar West. After the inauguration of the facility, the first vaccine dose was administered to a beneficiary in his car at around 10 am. The "drive-in vaccination facility (has been started) for 45+ specially abled ppl & immobile senior citizens," BMW Ward-GN's Assistant Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar wrote on Twitter.

The entire facility has seven booths, of which two are being used as drive-in booths. "The entire facility has the capacity to inoculate 5,000 beneficiaries per day across seven booths," Dighavkar told HT. The parking lot can accomodate up to 70 vehicles while people queue up for the two drive-in booths.

BMC will also set up a registration stall at the drive-in booths and the staff will help out the beneficiaries to get themselves registered while they wait in the queue to get their vaccine shots.

On Monday, the civic body's Twitter account posted, "Drive In Facility For 45+ specially-abled @mybmcWardGN has started a new vaccination centre at Kohinoor Parking Lot, JK Sawant Marg, Dadar(W), for 45+ citizens coming for their 2nd dose of #Covishield... has 7 vaccination rooms. #VaccinationForAll." The BMC has set up more than 135 vaccination centres across Mumbai since the vaccination drive started in the country on January 16.

While sharing the BMC's post on her Twitter handle and welcoming the move, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote, “This will offer much relief to senior citizens as well as those who are above 45 and are specially abled. Kudos @DighavkarKiran ji!."