COVID-19 vaccination camp held for transgender community in Thane

Thane (Maharashtra) [India], June 20 (ANI): The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Saturday organised a special vaccination camp for the transgender community despite many of them not possessing proper documents for their registration at the COVID-19 vaccination centre.
Bhawana, a transgender speaking to ANI said, "We have been battling this pandemic since two years now. We also required vaccination but many of us don't have an Aadhar card. Due to this reason we were not being able to get vaccinated. So we requested Thane administration to organise a separate camp for our community. We are thankful to the Thane Municipal Corporation for organising this camp."
"We are very thankful to the administration who have organised this camp. They not only helped us with vaccination, but also in our documentation, They provided us with forms for getting our basic documents prepared. I would urge all the people to not fear vaccination and step forward to get vaccinated because it would save their lives," said Kamini, another transgender community member.
Dr Aayaz Sheikh, medical officer at the centre said, "We always wanted to help the selected population which is unable to get vaccinated either due to inadequate documentation or financial restraints. This was the idea of the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner to organise various camps for the selected population like we organised a camp for the differently-abled on Friday and then this camp for transgenders today."
Responding to question that there are over 100 transgenders but only 20-25 have come to participate in the camp, Sheikh said, "There is fear among them regarding its side effects. We have a team who are counselling people. Even after vaccination, we conduct counselling of beneficiaries."
"We have organised such a drive for the transgenders because they need special attention, specifically in the time of COVID-19. We want to make sure that everybody gets vaccinated. This is the only vaccination centre where a camp for transgenders has been organised. Our aim is to vaccinate each and everybody in the society," informed Dr Sukesh Thakur, MS, Vaccination centre.
"Thane Municipal Corporation has come forward with this idea of special vaccination camp for the transgender community. A special Nodal Officer has been appointed to co-ordinate with the community and if they don't have their proper address or identity proof even then they will be considered for vaccination through this Nodal Officer under special category," he added.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded 8,912 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, said the state health bulletin. The state recorded 257 deaths due to the virus yesterday. The total Covid-19 case tally in Maharashtra now stands at 59,63,420, while 1,17,356 patients in the state have lost their lives to the pandemic so far.The case recovery rate of Maharashtra now stands at 95.76 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.97 per cent, as per the state health bulletin. (ANI)