Gujarat: Foreign-bound students queue up to take vaccine

SURAT: As many as 247 foreign-bound students took the vaccine on the first day on Monday and 296 students were inoculated on Tuesday. On Wednesday, however, only 16 students took the jab. Creating a separate system for the students helped them to get vaccinated without going through the tedious process of CoWin app and within 28 days of the first dose.

However, students had to visit the centre twice only to collect the certificate of vaccination.SMC officials said that because these students’ registration was done separately, they cannot get the certificate through CoWin.
A physical certificate authorized by the deputy commissioner (health and hospital) is issued to them two days after they take the vaccine. Students who are scheduled to travel abroad in July took their second shot at various designated centres in the city on Tuesday. While the vaccination process is smooth, change in travel guidelines and bans by foreign countries has left students on tenterhooks.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Tuesday began a drive to vaccinate students who are scheduled to travel abroad for higher education. Around 50 students were vaccinated across Ahmedabad on Day one itself, according to data provided by the civic authorities.
“We will continue the vaccination drive on alternate days, depending on the number of requests we receive. The state government then issues a vaccination certificate to each student,” said AMC official.