Rural areas account for only 13% of vaccinations under second drive - Hindustan Times
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Rural areas account for only 13% of vaccinations under second drive

ByArchana Mishra, Gurugram
Mar 18, 2021 11:10 PM IST

Rural health facilities of the district account for only 13

Rural health facilities of the district account for only 13.2% of the 76,699 Covid-19 vaccines administered between March 1 and 16 under the second phase drive, for people aged above 60 years and those aged 45-59 having comorbidities, according to the data available with the health department.

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Officials cited obstacles like lack of awareness, the distance between villages and vaccination sites, poor internet connectivity as well as limited sites to administer the shots has hindered the overall turnout in rural blocks of Sohna, Farukkhnagar and Pataudi.

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There are almost 14 facilities, including two subdivisional hospitals and 12 primary health centres (PHCs) that cover rural areas. As per the data, from March 1 to 16, over 10,172 people took the shot at rural facilities. Overall, 33,090 vaccine doses were administered at government set-ups, while 43,609 were administered at private facilities.

Ghangola, a health centre that covers over 50 villages in the Sohna block, has administered only 32 doses in the last two weeks, marking the lowest turnout in the district.

Dr Mayank Khanna, medical officer, community health centre, Ghangola, said that technical problems such as poor internet connectivity and lack of awareness among people led to poor footfall. “People are not even aware that they have to carry their mobile phone. During the registration process, an OTP is sent on their mobile number that has to be shared with the data entry operator at the site. Therefore, many of them returned without taking the vaccine shot,” said Khanna.

“Some frequent problems related to internet connectivity and access to mobile phones have also hampered the vaccination drive in the area,” he said.

Likewise, at Garhi Harsru PHC in Farrukhnagar, which covers over 13 villages, the footfall over the last two weeks was 421. Officials cited poor awareness as the main reason.

Dr Shalini Goyal, medical officer of the PHC, said, “First, they were reluctant to get tested and now, equally hesitant to take the vaccine shot. There has been a hitch but it is gradually getting loosened. In the early days of vaccination, only 20 doses were administered in a day. This has now improved to nearly 80 doses in the last few days.”

According to Khanna and Goyal, healthcare workers have been trying to motivate people in villages. “But the mindset of the people is that they don’t need to be vaccinated as they live in a healthy environment,” said Khanna.

Even among the people who took the shots, many feared losing their monthly pension if they didn’t do so. Ombeer Singh, a 70-year-old farmer in Ghangola, said, “Message has been conveyed through healthcare workers that our pension will be stopped if not vaccinated. That’s why I am taking the vaccine.”

Since each PHC in the rural areas caters to a large number of villages, the distance between the PHC and villages has also emerged as a problem. According to Goyal, people from distant villages are yet to visit the vaccination site.

To address the issue, the health department has been trying to set up subcentres across Sohna, Pataudi and Farukkhnagar blocks. “At least 80 subcentres across the district will be active before the next mega vaccination drive to be held in the city. A few subcentres have been made functional this week to increase turnout in rural areas,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

According to him, the issue will be discussed in the district task force meeting on Friday.

In other semi-rural areas like Rajender Park, Gandhi Nagar, Khandsa, Fazilpur, Basai Enclave, Mullahera, Firoj Gandhi Colony, Laxman Vihar and Sukhrali, the cumulative inoculation of the two weeks varies from 100 to 240. Officials at these centres attributed the low numbers to migratory populations not falling in the prioritised groups.

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