Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation starts special COVID-19 vaccination drive for students going abroad studies

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 13 (ANI): The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started a special vaccination drive for the students who have to go to foreign countries for their higher education and has listed 83 such students after verifying the necessary documents.

Taking on Twitter, the BMC informed that COVID Vaccination Centres (CVC) PN College in Khurda and CMC Kalyan Mandap in Cuttack have been assigned to vaccinate such students.

"Two COVID Vaccination Centres (CVC) are at PN College, Khurda and CMC Kalyan Mandap, Gopalpur, Cuttack. Though the Temple City is administering Covaxin to its citizens, the special arrangement is made only to help the foreign-going students for higher studies so that Covishield is made available for the students," the BMC tweeted.

"While 83 students are enlisted after verification of the necessary documents, 19 have already administered the Covishield doses at two designated centres so far. Others will be covered within a day or two," the BMC said.

"While the foreign bound students for higher studies in the age group of 18-44 were advised to make their requests through 1929 24X7 Call Centre at the Bhubaneswar Operations Centre (BOC), they were also requested to keep ready documents like confirmation letter of admission from foreign universities and their valid ID proof for the vaccination process," it said.

Authorities of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited under BOC have been designated for verification and listing of students who applied for vaccination before they take up their foreign trip.

Debashish Dash of Kalinga Vihar, Patrapada, who is planning to join the International School of Medicine (ISM) at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, took the Covishield vaccination at PN College in Khurda

"BMC has given an opportunity to the foreign university-bound students and it is a wonderful help. At a time when students became worried over the vaccination slots this programme for them has come as a pathfinder,'' Dash said.

Shawan Kumar of the Khandagiri area in the city, who plans to join the Siberian State Medical University at Tomsk city, received his Covishield jab recently.

"I had contracted COVID recently and after recovery, I was wondering about the vaccination process as the admission date was approaching. However, BMC's special arrangement for the students has come as a breather for me and now I will be confidently travelling to Siberia for my medical studies," Shawan said.

Suchismita Mohapatra from Palm Heights near SUM Hospital, who is planning to join Kharkiv National Medical University is happy as she has received her first dose of Covishield.

"I booked my slot through 1929 Call Centre and really grateful to the authorities for doing all the needful in a short time. It's a very constructive step as it would help many students going abroad," Mohapatra said. (ANI)