Groups organising vaccination camps describe communication and queue management as a key factor in defining the quality of a camp. Shri Jain Sangh Kodambakkam, for instance, had only a WhatsApp flyer circulated among its members, but at the camp held on May 28, people from far-off areas were in attendance. Those who wanted to get the jab had to send their name, age and phone number through through a WhatsApp number and they were allotted a slot, a day before the camp.
“Giving registered people a slot was a good idea as we did not have to see people queuing up at the campus,” says Gautham Bhandari, secretary of the Sangh. But, shared widely, his phone number received innumerable calls on vaccination day. “We should have mentioned a cut-off date and time for registration, otherwise people keep calling to know if they can come down on the day the camp is on,” says Bhandari. He says people need to understand that based on the registrations, the Greater Chennai Corporation decides on the number of vials to be brought to the venue.
The Management of Don Bosco School of Excellence and the Class of 1985, which is organising a camp with the support of Greater Chennai Corporation on May 31, has a Google form for people to fill in details such as name, sex, date of birth, age, Aadhaar card number, mobile number and email address. Slots are intimated via email/sms and it plans to have “50 patrons per hour per slot.” A welcome area with 50 chairs has been identified. No first come first serve protocol is being followed and people have been asked not to come in advance and wait.
Srinivas Youngmen’s Association (SYMA), which just concluded its two-day camp, says it worked differently for them. “We had four helpline numbers to answer questions posed by people,” says M J Ramani, member, SYMA. People had to collect their tokens to get the jab. “In 15 minutes, 200 tokens were given out,” says Ramani. They did not have a slot and people were directed to the Association’s health centre at Triplicane on first-come-first-serve basis.
“We had debated whether giving a slot would be a better idea, but the majority felt that when the timing is not maintained, people are upset and they get into an argument, so we did not pursue it,” he says, adding that as a majority were staying in Triplicane they did not have people queuing up. “Ten people who had taken the token did not turn up, so we gave it people who had come from other neighbourhoods who could not collect the tokens,” he says.
Published - May 29, 2021 05:54 pm IST
