COVID-19 vaccination camp organised for empowering sex workers in Kolkata's Sonagachi

By Ujjwal Roy
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 29 : The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, in association with Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday organised a vaccination camp for empowering sex workers at Sonagachi in Kolkata.
Bishakha Laskar, committee chief told ANI, "Vaccination is their only hope against COVID. Around 300 sex workers have been vaccinated."
"On Monday, vaccination program for sex workers in the age group of 18-60 has been conducted, in Sonagachi wherein around 300 sex workers were vaccinated against COVID-19. The drive will continue for the next two days. It was important for sex workers to have such a set-up where they could get themselves vaccinated as they come in contact with many people. Based on the list we have, we are getting all sex workers vaccinated and arranging vaccination for those who have documents and those who don't," Laskar said.

"I also appeal to sex workers to use sanitizers, wear masks and get vaccinated to avoid the spread of this Coronavirus. About 7,000 sex workers live in Sonagachi and it is important to get all of them vaccinated. I hope our efforts will encourage others," the Committee chief said.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive took place at Urban Primary Healthcare Centre in Masjid Bari Street in Kolkata. Several workers were seen lined up to get themselves jabbed.
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal administered the first dose of COVID vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years yesterday, as per the Union Health Ministry.