Delhi malls turning into drive-through vax centres

Since the last couple of weeks, several malls across NCR have turned into drive-through vaccination centres. While Gurgaon and Noida saw these camps set up in malls earlier this month, Delhi saw its first drive-through vaccination camps this week at malls in Saket and Dwarka. People who got their shot walk us through their experience:

Pranav Jawa, a PG student and a resident of GK II, says, “There were three locations to choose from for the drive-through vaccination, and I chose a mall in Saket.I reached around 11am and had to wait for 45 minutes for the jab. I had to wait for 30 minutes after vaccination (to monitor side-effects, if any). I tried booking through other options as well, but couldn’t get a slot. Then somebody forwarded this information on our family WhatsApp group, and I registered. A day before, my sister got her vaccine from a hospital, and I had accompanied her. As compared to hospitals, I feel drive-in vaccinations are safer because you don’t have risk of exposure as compared to other vaccination centres. You just have to slide down your car’s window, get the jab, wait for 30 minutes and leave.”

Nancy Sawaria, who works in an MNC in Gurgaon and lives in Delhi, says, “Since the last few weeks, I’ve been trying over 10 times a day but haven’t been able to get a slot. When I heard about the drive-through vaccination, I immediately filled in my details. The process was as smooth as it could be, and it was the best social distancing that you could possible have outside. I had no hesitation when I reached the mall. Everything was managed properly and it was quite hygienic. I went with my mother and sister, and the three of us got our first shots. The waiting time was a bit much, but not even one person stepped out of their car, so it was quite safe.”

Doctors and staffers at these venues asked people to wait for 30 minutes inside their car and to honk if they felt any dizziness or discomfort, so that a team could be sent to check. A number of people said they came to malls for vaccination as they didn’t want to go to hospitals to get vaccinated. Harishankar, a student who lives in south Delhi, says, “It (the experience) was absolutely amazing. I’m grateful this campaign was organised where people could get the vaccines without sitting together and waiting for hours to get their shot. Even if you had to wait, it was inside your own car without putting yourself at risk of infection. I felt it was a great idea that it was organised in a large space like a parking lot where you enter, get your dose and exit. I was actually waiting for the drive-through vaccination in Delhi as I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where one could actually catch the infection.”

Shilpy Chopra, a resident of Ghaziabad, says, “I went for vaccination with my husband and both of us took our first dose at the drive-through centre, but I feel that they are charging too high. We paid Rs 1450 for vaccination but we had no choice because there were no slots available anywhere. Booking the slot and the vaccination process was smooth, and we had to wait for 1.5 hours to get the vaccine.”