Over 200 female commercial sex workers were administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine here on Monday as part of the efforts to include the vulnerable and marginalised communities in the inoculation drive. The Wadia Hospital, along with Aarya, GAURAV and Aastha Parivar, organised the unique drive covering more than 200 female CSWs from different parts of the city.

The campaign was witnessed by Mayor Kishori Pednekar, MLA from Sewri Ajay Chaudhary, Wadia Hospital CEO Minnie Bodhanwala, rights activist Zainab Patel and Mumbai District AIDS Control Society Additional Project Director Shrikala Acharya. "Many vaccination drives have been conducted for various vulnerable and marginalised communities of the society, but the CSWs were left behind. As sex work is still considered a 'taboo', it is even tougher for them to tackle the problems they encounter on a daily basis," Pednekar said.