Young adults, many of whom do not have smartphones, went to a college in south Calcutta to get their Covid shots at a day-long vaccination camp on Monday.

The camp was jointly organised by Calcutta police, SSKM Hospital, The Bhawanipur Education Society College and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. Three-hundred people in the 18-44 age group received the first dose of Covaxin for free.

“About 70 per cent of those who came did not have a smartphone, which itself was an indicator of their background. We had deputed college students, who helped them with the registration on the CoWIN portal so they could get vaccinated,” said Miraj D. Shah, vice-chairman, The Bhawanipur Education Society College.

The camp was held on the college campus from 10.30am to 4pm.

Shah said the process was slow initially but when students of the college lent a hand, it picked up pace.

The camp was flagged off by Soumen Mitra, the commissioner of Calcutta police; Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, the director of IPGMER-SSKM; and Shah.

The infrastructure was provided by the college and the authorities maintained all Covid protocols such as distancing and sanitisation.

Areas on the premises were clearly demarcated so that physical distancing could be maintained.

“Space allocated for us to sit while maintaining distance and once we received the jab, we waited in a separate area,” said a person who received a vaccine shot.

Shah said the college’s management, teachers and students were doing everything possible to beat the pandemic.