Page 12 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2021-22
P. 12

Mission Vaccine Suraksha


                                                                  The development of safe and effective vaccines was
                                                                  a game-changer in the fight against the pandemic.
                                                                  To support public health efforts, Reliance Foundation
                                                                  launched Mission Vaccine Suraksha in April 2021
                                                                  to bring vaccines to every Indian. The programme
                                                                  covered vulnerable communities, Reliance employees
                                                                  and their families across India, and even included
                                                                  outreach efforts in remote locations. The aim was to
                                                                  reach every last-mile resident, including the elderly, the
                                                                  homeless, people with disabilities and those living in
                                                                  remote areas. This ensured complete coverage of the
                                                                  vaccination programme, which was crucial as any gaps
                                                                  in coverage would have compromised public
                                                                  health efforts.

                                                                  Reliance thus provided over 40 lakh vaccinations free
                                                                  of cost to support the national vaccination mission. It
                                                                  collaborated with local authorities and governments in
                                                                  this mission under the We Care umbrella. This included
                                                                  free vaccination doses to the governments of Kerala,
                                                                  Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, as well as to other
                                                                  regional and national organisations. This turbocharged
                                                                  the nation’s vaccine rollout at a critical point and helped
                                                                  make it one of the most successful national vaccine
                                                                  programmes anywhere in the world.





















               Thinking out of the box to                           Delivering vaccines to

               deliver liquid oxygen                                the most vulnerable

                                                                    Reliance Foundation has conducted vaccination
               Reliance had to overcome immense challenges          drives for vulnerable communities across India,
               to produce and distribute liquid oxygen of the       including in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal
               desired quality. The biggest challenge was the       and Kerala. Among the delighted beneficiaries
               exacting specifications – liquid medical oxygen      are Paban Ghosh (90) and Maya Rani Ghosh (74)
               has to be produced at -183ºC with almost 99.5%       of Badkulla, Nadia, in West Bengal. They had
               purity. Reliance engineers worked tirelessly to      no mobile phones and were unable to visit any
               maximise production in a short span of time through   vaccination centre due to their advanced age.
               process optimisation and modification of Cryogenic   When Reliance Foundation visited their village, its
               Air Separation Units. They had to improvise          officials registered them on the CoWin app, which
               means of efficient transportation too, since liquid   enabled them to get safely vaccinated. Another
               oxygen pumps cannot be installed at short notice.    relieved recipient is Swami Naidu, a fisherman from
               Ingeniously, they made logistical modifications      Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. He did have a mobile
               to rail and road transport, such as laying parallel   phone, but he was unable to get any vaccination
               lines, using hoses and loading liquid tankers        slots on the CoWin app as they always seemed
               through pressure differentials. Their quick thinking   fully booked. This compounded his growing
               and creativity helped solve several intractable      anxiety as cases continued to rise. Finally, the local
               engineering challenges and paved the way for         Reliance Foundation team helped Naidu secure
               Reliance’s successful delivery of oxygen for         a slot and he got himself vaccinated at a nearby
               the nation.                                          hospital, allaying his fears.



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