Special Vaccine Drive For 83 Foreign-Bound Students In Odisha, 19 Given First Jab

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a special vaccination drive for 83 students in the 18-44 age group who are planning to go abroad for further studies.

Of the students who were enlisted for the drive after verification of their documents, 19 have already been administered Covishield doses at two designated centres so far, the BMC informed on Sunday.

The others will be vaccinated within a day or two, the BMC added.

According to a BMC tweet, two COVID vaccination centres (CVC) were opened at PN College in Khurda and CMC Kalyan Mandap at Gopalpur in Cuttack.

“BMC has given a wonderful opportunity to foreign university-bound students. It is a great help to us,” said Debashish Dash, a resident of Kalinga Vihar in Bhubaneswar, who took the vaccine at the PN College centre on Friday.

Debashish is planning to join International School of Medicine (ISM) at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Though Bhubaneswar is administering Covaxin to its residents, Covishield is being arranged to help the foreign-bound-students.

Notably, these students were advised to make their appointments for vaccination through 1929 at the Bhubaneswar Operations Centre (BOC).

They have to keep ready documents like confirmation letter of admission from foreign universities and their valid ID proof for getting vaccinated.

One Suchismita Mohapatra from Palm Heights in Bhubaneswar is planning to join Kharkiv National Medical University at Kharkov, the second biggest city in Ukraine. She has also received her first dose of Covishield recently.

“I booked my slot through 1929 and am really grateful to the authorities for doing all the needful in a short time. It is a very constructive step as it would help many students going abroad,” Suchismita said.