A drive-in vaccination facility was launched at South City Mall and walk-in vaccinations started at Acropolis Mall on Wednesday.
Anyone who turns 18 this year or is older can get their Covid shots at these places. The recipients only need to register on the CoWIN portal but need not book slots. Many who want to get vaccinated have been complaining that despite repeated attempts over several days, they failed to get slots at any vaccination centre.
At Acropolis, 150 people received their shots, while 21 people received theirs at South City.
“We offered both Covishield and Covaxin to the recipients at Acropolis. Only Covishield was offered at South City,” said an official of AMRI Hospitals, which organised both the drives with the respective mall authorities.
“We are expecting a higher turnout as more people get to know about the sites in the coming days.”
At Acropolis, a portion of the fourth floor of the mall has been converted into a vaccination site.
At South City, the first-floor parking area is being used for the drive-in and only those coming in four-wheelers can get the shot.
A separate vaccination drive for construction workers was held at Acropolis Mall on Wednesday, organised jointly by the state government and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai), Bengal chapter’s youth wing. “Credai youth wing and the state government jointly organised the free vaccination for construction workers. Merlin group provided the space at Acropolis mall,” said an official of Merlin group, the owner of Acropolis Mall. A vaccination for construction workers will be held at South City mall on Thursday, said the official.
A walk-in jab facility is being run at City Centre Salt Lake as well. Recipients can walk in without booking slots.
Drive-in vaccination is underway at Quest Mall for those with slots booked through Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s WhatsApp chatbot. Vaccination at Quest Mall is free because the CMC is providing the doses.
Two drive-by camps will be held in the city on Wednesday — at Ajoynagar and at Tallah’s traffic training school, said the official of AMRI, which is organising them. The Ajoynagar drive will end on Thursday and the one in Tallah on Friday.
