J&K opens all-women 'pink booth' for COVID-19 vaccination in Udhampur to fast-track queues

In a first for Jammu and Kashmir, an all-women exclusive COVID-19 vaccination centre called 'pink booth' was launched in the Udhampur district hospital. Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur, Indu Kanwal Chib, inaugurated the booth which aims to expand the immunisation cover and encourage women to get vaccinated. The dedicated booth is said to fast track the long queues for inoculation, boosting vaccination among women.

The 'pink booth' will effectively ensure that women don't have to face any hesitancy or hassle in getting their vaccine dosage with health workers prioritising vaccination for them, ANI reported.  

The all-women exclusive 'pink booth' 

To ensure smooth functioning, all-female staff has been deployed at these sites to ensure processes like registration and inoculation, take place in the safety and comfort of the women beneficiaries. An all pink theme has been kept with the interiors being colour-coordinated, giving it an enticing look. It has been receiving good responses from people as several women showed up at the site to get their vaccine administered. They highlighted the comfortable environment and the thoughtful initiative of the authorities for the creation of this special booth. 

"The atmosphere here is very comfortable. We are thankful to the authorities for the same. Now the vaccination process is much easier," said Sonakshi Jagotra, an eligible beneficiary. Another woman, Akriti Gupta, who was accompanying her mother for vaccination at the 'pink booth' mentioned the comfort and avoidance of long queues that women had to face at the district hospital before this initiative which led to a delay in women's vaccination process. "This initiative will encourage women to take the vaccine who might procrastinate wanting to avoid long queues. A lot of people used to turn back after seeing the rush at the district hospital," she told ANI. 

Udhampur District Commissioner inaugurated the exclusive booth 

The booth was inaugurated on July 17, Saturday, by the deputy commissioner who especially appealed to pregnant women to get the jab deeming it extremely important for the fight against COVID-19. A health worker at the district hospital, Jyoti Devi, said the problem of discomfort faced by women at the vaccination centre has been resolved with the setting up of a 'pink booth'. "Women and girls are happy to know that they got a special corner for vaccination. More women are visiting the hospital for vaccination," Devi said.

Medical Superintendent at the District Hospital Udhampur, Dr Vijay Raina, said that the 'pink booth' initiative aims to give women and girls their separate space for vaccination. "Because of the large-scale vaccination drives that are taking place, women especially with children faced a lot of problems in standing in queues to get their vaccination done," he said. Being optimistic that the initiative will gather momentum, he said "In the coming days, this concept will attract a lot of people."

(Source - ANI)

(IMAGE- ANI)