05 June,2021 04:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
Shobha Aher gives a health talk at the Dindoshi Hall vaccination centre
As the city races to fight Covid-19 through vaccinations, two senior nurses, both, with work experience totalling three decades, have been conducting health talks at a civic vaccination centre in Dindoshi, Malad, to fight hesitancy. The centre is located amid slums where there is a lack of awareness of the virus and the means to fight it.
The Dindoshi Hall vaccination centre takes the help of ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activist) and anganwadi workers who bring people to the centre to attend the 15-minute talks by the nurses.
Nurses Dhruvlata Joshi, 59, and Shobha Aher, 60, have worked in private and government hospitals in Mumbai and Thane and have vast experience in giving intramuscular injections.
Assistant medical officer of Dindoshi Hall vaccination centre, Dr Sushant Kadam, said that from Monday to Wednesday, locals can walk in for vaccines, while from Thursday to Saturday, those with appointments are allowed.
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"While Aher comes from Kalyan, Joshi stays with her 90-year-old mother in Malad," Dr. Kadam said.
Joshi, who has worked for over 35 years, said, "I am a trained General Nursing Midwife (GNM) and have worked in many private hospitals in Mumbai. But after the onset of the pandemic, the hospital where I was working asked all staff aged above 45 years to stay at home. I wanted to continue working but I had to follow the rule."
"When the vaccination drive started in Mumbai, I contacted a few people in BMC and got a job to administer the intramuscular injections at Dindoshi Hall," she added.
"I stay with my mother at Liberty Garden in Malad West. Though many people, including my mother, tell me to stay at home, I believe it is my social responsibility to work as I am a trained medical staff," said Joshi. Joshi said that during their talks, people ask about the side effects of vaccines.
"People are ill-informed or have no reliable source of information. So they believe rumours and become hesitant about inoculation. As such, the health talks are important for them. They are proving successful as those who are unwilling to get the vaccine return home with their first dose administered," Dr Kadam said.
To make the long journey from Kalyan, Aher, a trained Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM), starts her day at 6 am and boards a train around 7.30 am. She reaches Andheri via the Metro and then proceeds to Goregaon on a slow train and to Dindoshi Hall in a bus to report for work at 10 am. She ends her day at 3 pm and reaches home at 6 pm.
"I retired from a civic hospital in Thane in June 2019," Aher said. "I felt helpless after the pandemic began and wanted to contribute. But since I was retired, I could not join the workforce. My children and relatives also discouraged me from going out. But being a trained nurse, it was not possible for me to stay home amid a health emergency."
"When the vaccination drive started, I used my contacts to get this profile of administering intramuscular injections. It satisfies me that I am able to contribute in some way," Aher added.
General queries at Aher and Joshi's health talks include questions on whether people can continue medicines for blood pressure, sugar, thyroid, etc. The duo conducts around seven to eight health talks in a day for a group of 10-15 people. Beneficiaries are given the vaccine only after getting all the information.
Joshi said, "To gain the trust of vaccine-hesitant people, we tell them why the vaccine is important; secondly, we tell them how if their first dose is Covishield, the second one also will have to be Covishield."
"If the beneficiary is right-handed, the vaccine is always administered on the left hand and vice-versa. We also suggest them not to apply ice/hot packs on the injected area even if it pains," Joshi added.
"People generally fall sick, get chills, etc. after getting vaccinated but slum dwellers believe they have got Covid-19 because of the shot. So, we educate them about the side effects and recommend paracetamol," Joshi said.
"There are many people visiting our vaccination centre for the second dose. After attending our health talks, they appreciate our efforts at spreading awareness," Joshi added.
Aher added, "This is the first time when the entire world is fighting the same disease. So, everybody is confused regarding the vaccine. Being a trained medical staff, it is my sole responsibility to enlighten people about it and the ways to fight it."
