The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which recently undertook a drive to vaccinate homeless persons and beggars against COVID-19, has now started a campaign to inoculate potential super-spreaders in the township, a civic official said on Monday. In the first phase of the new campaign, 250 employees of various medical stores in Navi Mumbai were administered vaccine doses at a special camp organised on Sunday, civic spokesperson Mahendra Konde told PTI.

He said those working at medical stores come in contact with a large number of people, including sick persons, frequently. Hence, the NMMC undertook the special drive to protect them from the coronavirus infection, he said.

In the first round, 169 men and 81 women working at medical stores in Sanpada area of Navi Mumbai were covered, the official said. NMMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said medical shop staffers have been risking their lives in the fight against COVID-19. “The special camp was organised to protect them from the infection,” he said. He further said the NMMC will soon organise special camps for vaccinating those working in hotels/restaurants, petrol pumps, milk and other delivery persons, auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, and those employed in theaters.

The civic body has also been vaccinating workers of various quarries within the civic limits, Konde said. “Efforts are being made to ensure all Navi Mumbai citizens aged 18 and above receive at least one shot of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine by July 31,” the official said. He said 78 vaccination centers are currently operational in the township for citizens.

A mass awareness drive highlighting the need for vaccination has also been undertaken, he said, adding that volunteers who are part of the campaign are given Rs 10 as special allowance for each person they reach out to, he added.