Mumbai: COVID-19 vaccine centre in Mulund shows city how it’s done

A senior citizen arrives at the Jumbo COVID Centre at Mulund. File pic/Sameer Markande

After spending hours on vaccination duty, doctors and medical staff including ward boys at the Mulund Jumbo COVID Centre are going out of their way to make the experience a better one for senior citizens. They are providing them with tea and biscuits and paying for it from their pockets. The dean, whose idea it was, says many seniors already face health issues and they don't want them to be troubled further and hence decided to treat them as guests.

Citizens at the Jumbo COVID Centre at Mulund

In the third phase of vaccinations, government hospitals are giving vaccines to senior citizens free of cost. There are huge crowds for the same at the vaccination centres. The centre at Mulund has nearly 300 to 400 senior citizens visiting it every day.

To ensure the process is not tiring for senior citizens, doctors and the staff at the Mulund Jumbo COVID Centre have also arranged for a team of people to help them. Many senior citizens are not able to fill up their details properly on the CoWIN portal. The team also helps them with this.

Senior speak
Arvind Bhanushali, 64, and his wife Vasani, 60, who took the vaccine on Thursday at the Jumbo COVID centre at Mulund said, "We didn't know how to fill up our details on the CoWIN portal or how to do the registration. So we just came to the centre. The staff helped us and they filled up our details. They also gave us tea and breakfast. They were really helpful."

Shrikant Katira, 67, who had taken the vaccine, had brought his wife Kokila, 63, to the centre for vaccination. He said, "We had not registered on CoWIN. We came here at 10 am. The staff here helped us a lot. In fact we got breakfast here. Our families need not worry about us."

Another recipient of the vaccine Kantilal Joshi, 79, was also happy with the help from the doctors and staff. He said, "I had been trying to register on the portal for 2-3 days but couldn't understand how. So I directly came here today. The staff here helped me."

‘Donors could help'
Dr Pradeep Angre, dean of the Jumbo COVID Centre said, "Most of the senior citizens who come for the vaccine already have some disease. So we decided to treat them as guests. It's our responsibility to give them tea and breakfast. The government only provides water. We have been providing them breakfast and tea for the past four days. The entire expense is paid for by the doctors and medical staff. However, if donors approach us to help, we will be able to provide a better breakfast."

400
Approx no. of senior citizens visiting the Jumbo COVID Centre at Mulund every day