At a time when India is battling one of the deadliest pandemic, where the only ay of hope for the citizens is to get themselves inoculated. For a country with a 1.3 billion population, it's a humongous task. Few cities have come up with drive-in vaccination centres where people can get their doses inside their vehicles.
With such designated vaccine drive-in facilities outside hospitals and clinics, the stress on the medical staff and infrastructure at hospitals can reduce. Drive-in vaccination centres will encourage people to get vaccinated at the earliest without compromising themselves from coming into contact with other citizens.
Here's a list of the cities that already have operating drive-in vaccination centres:
Noida: Drive-through vaccination against COVID-19 for people aged 45 years and above was started at two places in Gautam Buddh Nagar. The service has been launched at DLF Mall of India in Noida and the Shaheed Pathik stadium in Greater Noida. According to officials, to avail of the service, people need to register their slots through the CoWIN portal at either of the locations and reach the designated venue on schedule.
Odisha: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has four drive-in vaccination centres for people above 45 years of age who are yet to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mumbai: Maharashtra's first drive-in vaccination centre started in Mumbai earlier this month. The vaccination centre is located in Dadar West, at the Kohinoor public parking centre. BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to open in each of seven administrative regions of the city. Those above 60 years can get vaccinated at drive-in centres only by appointment, and they shall not drive themselves but will be accompanied by an attendant or a driver, the municipal commissioner said in an order.
Bhopal: A drive-in vaccination centre was started in Bhopal's Ashoka Hotel when the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive commenced. Some months ago, this place served as a drive-in cinema, where people could watch movies while sitting in the comfort of their vehicle. The place which now serves as a COVID vaccination centre in the city is an appropriate area to accommodate several cars entering in a queue. Meanwhile, it also helps in maintaining social distancing and evades the possibility of people thronging at the centre. The vaccination centre is open between 5 pm and 8 pm for which an online registration through CoWIN website or the Aarogya Setu app is mandatory.
Gurgaon: Park+, an app-based startup has organised drive-in vaccination camps in Gurugram at three locations - Ambience mall, DLF City centre and DLF Cyber hub. These malls will allow citizens only through prior appointments and the booking can be done on CoWIN portal. These drive-in centres are offering the first dose of vaccination only to people above 45 years of age.
Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and Delhi government to treat as a representation a PIL seeking setting up of drive-in vaccination centres in open areas, including stadiums, as has been done in Mumbai.
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