Don Bosco Catholic University has received an average of 1,500 people per day at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Catholic University in Campo Grande, Brazil, has received an average of 1,500 people per day at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The clinic is set up across three sports fields and is supported by 200 students, teachers and administrative employees who help in the administration of vaccines.

The clinic, which operates under the responsibility of the Municipal Secretariat of Health, was launched on June 24 with eight vaccine locations and later expanded to 15 locations. Don Bosco Catholic University supports the clinic and provides students from nursing, pharmacy and biomedicine courses to help with its operation.

The clinic was set up as a drive-in so patients do not need to leave their cars to receive their dose. This set-up ensures greater agility and minimizes contact between people waiting to be vaccinated.

“With this drive-in service, Don Bosco Catholic University feels embraced by the people of Campo Grande and can even embrace them again in turn. We know that we are benefiting the population and this is gratifying. We are doing what Don Bosco would have done in his time, opening the doors and helping in difficult moments,” said Salesian Brother Raffaele Lochi, the interim rector of Don Bosco Catholic University.

Since the start of the pandemic, Don Bosco Catholic University has helped support its local community in the fight against COVID-19. The university lent one of its super freezers to the Municipality of Campo Grande to conserve vaccines, which must be stored at temperatures well below freezing. The university also provided use of high-tech machinery for the processing of swabs at the central laboratory of Mato Grosso do Sul.

At Don Bosco Catholic University’s Clinical School dozens of people benefited from psychological assistance offered to those who suffered from the pandemic and its consequences. Those who have contracted the virus and suffer its aftermath also benefited from sessions for strengthening muscle and for improving breathing.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people have fallen into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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ANS – Brazil – Over 12,000 people immunized in just 8 days thanks to anti-Covid-19 vaccination center at Don Bosco Catholic University

Don Bosco Catholic University

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil