145 people get Covid-19 jabs as Bengaluru mall opens drive-through vaccination

Credit: Vega Mall

Credit: Vega Mall

Credit: Vega Mall

Credit: Vega Mall

As many as 145 people got vaccinated on the first day of a drive-through vaccination camp that began at Vega City Mall, Bannerghatta Road, on Friday.

The camp, to go on until June 17, remains open for people to drive by and get the jab between 10 am and 1 pm. The day also saw 100 registrations for each brand of vaccine: Covishield and Covaxin. About 80 people who registered for Covishield turned up to get the jab, while 65 who registered for Covaxin drove in to get the injection.

They got vaccinated despite the camp beginning late by more than an hour at 11.15 am due to a technical glitch. While Aster RV Hospital is providing the Covishield vaccine, Vasavi Hospital is giving Covaxin at the government-mandated rates of Rs 780 and Rs 1,410 per dose, respectively.

Vega Mall director Sachin Raju said they would continue the camp until June 17 if the vaccine stocks last. “Around 175 to 200 registered on Day 1. Staff and ambulances from both Aster RV Hospital and Vasavi Hospital were stationed here. Post-vaccination, a parking slot was given for people to wait in their car. They were monitored by the nurse in case of any emergency,” Raju said.

Read | Workplace jabs account for significant share of city vaccination: Report

Every day, the hospitals bring 100 vaccine doses with them.

Dr Pavan Yadav, consultant, Interventional Pulmonology, Sleep Medicine and Lung Transplantation, Aster RV Hospital, said in a statement: “People who registered were given entry from one gate for spot identification, then they were administered the vaccine and they used another gate to leave the venue.”

This is a safe method of administering the vaccines since there is no queuing involved. “Eighty doses of Covishield and 65 doses of Covaxin were administered,” the statement said.

“There were no AEFIs (Adverse Events Following Immunisation) witnessed today (Friday). All patients waited for half an hour and under observation to check for any reaction. A team of nurses were on standby to take care of the patients,” Dr Yadav said.