A Vaccine on Wheels (VoW) initiative got going at a Kurla East school on Friday afternoon, as children aged 12 to 14 came in to take the COVID vaccine. A van parked on the premises served as a centre for the vaccination drive. Though vaccinations for this age group have just opened, the VoW programme personnel and the non-profit United Way Mumbai spoke about the vans going the last mile across the city, in order to reach out to the vulnerable and those left out, to give them access to the COVID vaccine.

As children trooped into the school classroom for registration, Nandita Narvekar, manager for corporate partnerships of the NGO United Way Mumbai said as children trooped into the school classroom for registration, “Today the accent here is on children but we are reaching out to all, from different age groups who have not taken the vaccine yet, for the first, second or booster dose. We coordinate with the BMC, and the ward officers let us know where there is a need for vaccination. Mobilisation officers do the rounds of the area, announcing via megaphone that a vaccination drive is going to be conducted on so-and-so day along with timings, urging people to come and get the vaccine.”