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Vaccine hesitancy in rural belt major hurdle for Panchkula health dept
Recently, Asha workers visiting a slum area were abused and threatened with unleashed dogs by the locals
They unleashed dogs at them, threatened them with stones, hurled abuses, used vulgar language and even denied them entry in some villages, but the health workers of the Panchkula administration won’t give up trying to convince people to get Covid-19 vaccination.
The district health department has vaccinated 2,32,257 persons to date, achieving a target of 56.5%. Vaccinating 100% of the population is a distant dream, as there are areas where people are too reluctant to get a jab.
On June 3, ASHA workers visited the slums of Gandhi Colony to encourage people to get vaccinated. However, they had to leave after the slum dwellers unleashed dogs at them.
An ASHA worker said: “We had one of the worst experiences. We had just set out a table in the slums, when an addict came and started abusing us and threatened us with stones and sticks. In no time, two dogs were unleashed and we had to run like anything.”
As they tried to save themselves, people were laughing instead of helping, the worker added.
‘All efforts went in vain’
Dr Lakshmi Sirohi, nodal officer for Covid-19 vaccination of all primary health centres in old Panchkula, said though the team was called back, they did not give up and contacted the sarpanch, but all efforts went in vain.
In one of the videos, a person could be seen shouting at a female health worker, saying that if a child dies, he will pick their children from homes. The worker said: “People use vulgar language and hurl abuses at us. It’s quite unsafe as well as many drug addicts are there. However, all are not bad. There are a few good people as well who support us.”
She said that out of the 2,000 living there, hardly 200 had been vaccinated after a lot of effort.
Dr Sirohi said: “There are a few communities where there is more reluctance. One such community is Deha and 50-55 of its people live in Kharak Mangoli village; none have been jabbed.”
The health officials have been trying to vaccinate people in Navanagar village for the last three months, but auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) are still “not allowed to enter the village”. It has a population of around 300 and all are migratory workers.
In one village, only 2 adults inoculated
In Sultanpur village, only two adults out of 1,100 population have got the shot. Nearly 80% people are below the poverty line, and are largely illiterate.
Dr Ashwani from Hangola village said: “A man of Yamunanagar died a few days after he was vaccinated. And the rumour spread like wildfire that he died because of vaccine. First the residents refused for a month, then they urged the younger population be vaccinated first. We will visit them soon and see how the youth responds.”
Dr Monika Shori, medical officer at CHC Nanakpur, said: “Some elderly man in the adjoining village died a few days after getting the vaccine. Villagers believed that he died because of the vaccine. Because of this rumour, we had to face a lot of problems.”
When the team visited at the end of April, they were asked to return. They tried again after 15-20 days, but got the same response. They tried convincing one person, who was visiting their OPD, but he refused twice fearing that he would die.
Finally, 2-3 persons from the village got the jab, when a camp was organised in a religious place. So far, only 10-12 persons from the village have been jabbed. “People are still reluctant and ANMs still cannot enter their village,” Dr Shori said.
Dr Meenu Sasan, district immunisation officer, said: “We are vaccinating over 5,000 persons a day. Reluctance has come down, but still there are areas where people are not ready. Usually such areas are those where the illiteracy rate is high and people are poor.”
“We keep on visiting such areas, educate people, and try to win their confidence. It takes time in some cases,” she added.
