AHMEDABAD: Authorities in an Indian city have organized a special drive-through vaccination camp for disabled people in a bid to address low vaccination rates, especially among more vulnerable members of society.
Organizers of the weekend campaign in Ahmedabad, the biggest city in Gujarat state, aim to vaccinate 500 disabled people, who often struggle to book slots and get access to vaccination centers.
People taking advantage of the offer queued up at the center in vehicles, wheelchairs, and on customised mopeds for their free COVID-19 vaccine shots.
“The vaccination process is now more convenient,” said Mahendra Chudasma, a 45-year-old man who is visually impaired.
“It’s a very nice feeling.”
Despite being a major producer of coronavirus vaccines, India faces a huge task in inoculating its 1.3 billion people, partly due to the logistical difficulties of reaching remote areas and also skepticism about the shots.
People with disabilities often face additional problems of being unable to reach vaccination sites due to a lack of transport or no ramps at the centers for easy access, said Bhushan Punani, general secretary of the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad, one of the organizers of the campaign.
Some people have struggled to use a government-mandated smartphone app required to register for shots, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has said it aims to vaccinate all eligible and willing Indians by the end of this year, but only 240 million of the country’s 950 million adults have had at least one shot, according to health data.
India was hit hard by a surge of coronavirus infections in April and May but there are signs the worst could be over.
Authorities on Sunday reported 80,834 new COVID-19 infections over the previous 24 hours, the lowest daily tally in more than two months, according to health ministry data.
There were 3,303 deaths over the same period.
India holds vaccination drive for people with disabilities
https://arab.news/2mvnd
India holds vaccination drive for people with disabilities
- “The vaccination process is now more convenient,” said Mahendra Chudasma, a 45-year-old man who is visually impaired
- Despite being a major producer of coronavirus vaccines, India faces a huge task in inoculating its 1.3 billion people
Kazakhstan urges US and Europe to help secure oil transport after tanker attacks in Black Sea
- Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said three tankers were hit en route to the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium
- Russian defense ministry said Matilda tanker came under attack by two Ukrainian strike drones
MOSCOW: Kazakhstan on Wednesday urged the US and Europe to help secure the transport of oil following drone attacks on tankers heading to a Black Sea terminal on the Russian coast which handles one percent of global supply.
Unidentified drones struck at least two oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including one chartered by US oil major Chevron, as they sailed toward a terminal on the Russian coast to load oil from Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that three tankers were hit en route to the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in the Black Sea. On November 29, drones also attacked CPC’s exporting equipment, resulting in a fall in oil exports via the outlet.
“The increasing frequency of such incidents highlights the growing risks to the functioning of international energy infrastructure,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We therefore call upon our partners to engage in close cooperation to develop joint measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future,” it added.
Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday that the Matilda tanker, sailing under the Maltese flag, came under attack by two Ukrainian strike drones at a distance of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the city of Anapa in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Ukraine did not comment on the incident.
Shareholders in CPC’s 1,500-km (930-mile) pipeline include Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil company KazMunayGas, Russia’s Lukoil and units of US oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Russian terminals on the Black Sea handle more than 2 percent of global crude. Its waters, which are shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkiye, as well as Russia and Ukraine, are also crucial for the shipment of grain.
CPC alone accounts for around 80 percent of oil exports from Kazakhstan.
