Reluctance against vaccine a big challenge for state govt
Rumours of falling ill, impotence due to vaccination spreading among villagers
RANCHI: Reluctance to take the Covid vaccine, especially in the rural areas, is emerging as a big challenge for the authorities in Jharkhand. The situation might hit or at least delay the vaccination programme in the tribaldominated state.
Around 70% of the state’s 3.29 crore population resides in rural areas, according to the 2011 census.
There have been various incidents of villagers showing reluctance in taking vaccines across the state, with few incidents of violent protest also being reported in the past weeks.
On June 1, a health workers’ team was chased away by a villager with an axe in Unkuda village under Torpa block in the Khunti district. Both members had gone to the villager’s house for conducting an ongoing intensive public health survey where the villager warned them to leave the village.
Earlier on May 21, an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and her husband were held hostage and threatened by the angry villagers when they had gone for a vaccination drive in remote Popkanda village under Goilkera block of West Singhbhum district.
This issue was also raised by the elected representatives during the online feedback sessions hosted by the chief minister with legislators, parliamentarians and local body members.
Those now involved in the awareness drive taking place across the state for vaccination said that there are many reasons behind the anti-vaccine behaviour in few pockets of the state. The reasons include the level of illiteracy, rumours and some anti-social elements taking advantage of the situation.
A block-level mentor (BLM) in the Khunti district under the Deen Dayal Gram Swawlamban Yojna, who is now also participating in creating awareness about vaccination in the area, said that falling ill after taking the vaccine has been one of the most common fear among the villagers.
“In some areas, people also questioned the capability of the junior-level health workers like Sahiyas and ANMs. The politics, at the national as well as the local level, also seemed to have added to the rumours regarding vaccines,” the BLM said, while requesting anonymity.
Traditional gram pradhans and panchayat heads association Manki-Munda Sangh’s advisor and former West Singhbhum district president of the union Yugal Kishore Pat Pingua said that there had been an adverse impact of rumours like vaccination would make people impotent. However, the issue is now being dealt with by the top district officials, who are conducting meetings with the Mankis and Mundas.
“We have also been spreading the message of how safe the vaccination is. A substantial number of people aged 45 and above in Majhgaon block have taken the vaccine. We will be conducting a special camp on June 5. We are now spreading awareness among people in the age group of 18-44 years,” said Pingua.
Adivasi Ho Samaj Mahasabha (AHSM) central vice president Naresh Deogam said villagers in West Singhbhum district, dominated by the Ho tribe, were hardly aware of Covid-19 treatment or vaccines.
“A general feeling was that what is the point of taking vaccine if people are still getting infected? VIPs like VIPs like Laxman Gilua (ex-MP and BJP state president) and MLA Dasrath Gagrai are falling prey, while most of the tribals are still safe without vaccines. It also added to the reluctance,” he said.
The top officials said that the health department and the district administration took all possible measures to spread awareness and encourage people to take vaccines.
In fact, on Wednesday, our staff went and took vaccination in the same area in Khunti district where some reports of resistance had come. Besides providing proper material for creating awareness, we are also trying to focus on identifying some locally famous individuals and getting them vaccinated on priority, to spread the message,” said Siddharth Tripathi, the nodal officer for the health department’s IEC wing.
The officials said the foot soldiers are using the materials written in local languages to spread awareness about the vaccination. A video of the CM taking the jab is also being used to convince the people having apprehensions about vaccinations.
Deoghar deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri on Wednesday inspected several such camps in Devipur block. During the visit, he got jabs administered to the panchayat Pradhan and Mukhiya to motivate other villagers.
“The district administration is running a special Surkashit Gaon, Hamar Gaon initiative to ensure vaccination coverage,” Bhajantri said.
As per the latest Covid bulletin, 41.2 lakh people have been vaccinated with the first dose in the state, while 7.24 lakh have also received the second dose. In the 45 plus category, only 29% of the targeted 84 lakh people have been inoculated, while in the 18-44 age bracket, only 3.62% of the 1.57 crore targeted individuals have received the jab.