Bhubaneswar, Continuing with its priority and commitment to protect vulnerable populations against COVID-19, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken up the responsibility of helping senior citizens housed in various old-age homes of the State Capital to get vaccinated, if they are unable to visit the vaccination centres on their own.
Today, more than 40 elderly people with medical complications staying at Shri Krishna Old Age Home, a voluntary organization, in the Old Town area of the city were vaccinated from the comfort of their own living areas by the Civic Body.
A team from BMC comprising a Vaccinator, a Data Entry Operator (DEO), a Nodal Officer and a Doctor reached the old age home’s main centre at Tankapani Road at 9.30 AM to carry out the vaccination. Vaccine was administered to the inmates after their names were registered on the spot to make it hassle-free for them. Subsequently, the team went to two more centres located at Nuagaon and at Keuta Sahi Chhak near Lingaraj Temple to vaccinate the other elderly people living in the old-age homes.
Inmates of the old-age home expressed their happiness and gratitude soon after they were vaccinated from the comfort of their living areas.
Priyabrata Nanda, a retired Lecturer staying at Shri Krishna Old Age Home, Tankapani Road for the last two years, commended the efforts of the Civic Body in reaching out to the vulnerable groups in thess times of distress. “It’s a great help for the senior citizens, who are staying here and are unable to step outside due to various health ailments and the risk of getting infected. The entire process was smooth. We thank BMC for providing this service in very smooth and hassle-free manner,” said the 64-year-old Nanda, who is unmarried.
After the inoculation, Ansuman Rath, Zonal Deputy Commissioner (South-East Zone) who was supervising and monitoring the entire vaccination drive at the old-age home, interacted with the inmates & their caretakers and advised the inmates to do Yoga, light exercise and speak to their family members (staying outside), relatives, friends over phone or video calls to beat the stress, if any.
Besides, Rath also advised the NGO Officials to maintain proper hygiene and supply of masks, sanitizers and regularly monitoring of body temperature and respiratory health of the elderly people. The officials of the old-age home assured BMC that they will strictly follow the State Government’s protocols regarding do’s and dont’s for the protection of the elderly people at old-age home during this pandemic.
Rajesh Mohapatra, Founder Trustee of Shri Krishna Old Age Home, expressed his gratitude to BMC for the doorstep vaccination service. “On the behalf of all our inmates, I thank BMC Commissioner Shri Sanjay Singh for accepting our request and deploying the Vaccination Team to our place for vaccinating the elderly people with absolute comfort and ease. It’s indeed a great help for most of our inmates as they are unable to step out due to various health issues.”
Later in the day, four inmates of Odisha Association for the Blind situated at Satya Nagar were also vaccinated at their premises. The Civic Body has planned to vaccinate inmates of the Shelters for Urban Homeless (SUH) in the city tomorrow.
