PUNE The district administration, as part of its district task force formulated for vaccine distribution and management, has also decided to include representatives of various religions who have a strong influence among followers in the city.
The decision was taken following a reluctance of some citizens to previous vaccination drives.
A senior officer who was part of the first meeting to constitute the task force said, “We had faced a resistance from people during the earlier polio vaccination drive. To fight the crises we had included some religious leaders to clear rumours and encourage people to get their kids vaccinated. It had helped last time. This time too we are planning to include influential people from various religions. Although they were not present at the first meeting, they were informed via email that we might need their cooperation in future.”
The officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “During the beginning of the pandemic we saw many rumours floating around which led to panic and fear mongering among people, which is possible during the vaccination drive too.”
District collector Rajesh Deshmukh said, “They were not part of the meeting, but this would be a long and continuous vaccination drive and so we might include them in future if need be.”
{{/usCountry}}District collector Rajesh Deshmukh said, “They were not part of the meeting, but this would be a long and continuous vaccination drive and so we might include them in future if need be.”
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