8 distts with lowest Covid vaccination numbers in Maha get innovative to turn the tide

The eight districts that are of concern are Hingoli, Amravati, Akola, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Nanded, Beed and Nandurbar

PUNE With over 100 million vaccines administered in Maharashtra, one of the leading states in the country, a few districts are still lagging when it comes to Covid vaccinations.

There are 22 districts in the state that have recorded numbers lower than the state average, as less than 77% of eligible beneficiaries have got the first dose, and less than 38% have been fully vaccinated. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

There are 22 districts in the state that have recorded numbers lower than the state average, as less than 77% of eligible beneficiaries have got the first dose, and less than 38% have been fully vaccinated.

Of these, the eight districts that are of concern are Hingoli, Amravati, Akola, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Nanded, Beed and Nandurbar.

The administration in these district has now geared up to try innovative techniques, right from vaccination before banking services and religious calls, to lure beneficiaries to the vaccination centres, which they claim is working and will hopefully help them achieve the target of 100% of beneficiaries vaccinated with the first dose by the year end.

Earlier, through a video conference call, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed some of these districts and set a target to ensure that 100% of beneficiaries are vaccinated with at least the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.

However, despite the steady flow of the vaccine the turnout at the vaccination centres did not look promising. One of the primary reasons is a waning fear of Covid-19 as the number of new cases in these districts has gone down to single digits and then there is vaccine hesitancy.

Ten days ago, Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted: “The vaccine industry has worked tirelessly to provide enough stocks for the nation. Today, there are over 200 million doses available with states. I urge all adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Vaccine hesitancy is now the greatest threat in overcoming this pandemic”.

State immunisation officer Dr Sachin Desai verified the statement as he confirmed that the state machinery has over 10.80 million doses for use and so vaccine shortage is not an issue.

Various officials in these districts have also said that the reducing fear of the infection, vaccine hesitancy and also the failure of the administration to reach out to beneficiaries, especially in tribal belts, or to those who have a hesitancy was a problem which they believe they have now overcome.

The eight districts which are at the bottom have reported below 65% first doses and 30% second doses as of Sunday. Manisha Khatri, collector of Amravati district, which has seen 63% of the eligible beneficiaries vaccinated with the first dose and 28% fully vaccinated said, “For the last ten days we are seeing 10,000 vaccinations everyday which was earlier a few thousands. Over 110,000 beneficiaries were overdue for their second dose which has now gone down to 70,000. We are to set up vaccination centres outside major banks and government offices and will ask visitors to produce the vaccination certificate. Of course we cannot deny them any services as the vaccine is not mandatory.”

Jitendra Papalkar, collector of Hingoli, which has seen 63.60% of beneficiares who have got the first dose and 24.83% who have been fully vaccinated said, “To boost the vaccination, the administration went door to door. We also surveyed these villages wherein not a single dose was administered. We even deployed our volunteers and personnel at ration shops and asked people who came there for daily essentials to produce their vaccine certificate. If they did not we directed them to the nearest vaccination centre. In the past ten days the vaccination rate of the district has been going up daily by at least 1%. It is also important to note that the vaccination drive really began in the district only in August and so second dose beneficiaries are eligible now. Also we lost the monsoon months as the administration and the people were engaged in tackling the heavy floods. We hope to vaccinate everyone with at least one dose by this year end.”

Akola’s collector Nima Arora, where 63.16% of the beneficiaries have got the first dose and 28.58% are fully vaccinated, said, “The primary reason why the district lagged was because of the waning fear due to lowering positive cases. However, now we are using different media platforms like radios, local newspapers and with multiple waves in western countries being reported, people are coming forward to take the vaccine. We were are the 35th position in the state with regards to vaccine coverage, but in the past ten days we have jumped up five spots. We formed multiple teams led by Asha workers, Aanganwadi sevikas and teachers who were given 20-25 volunteers who would go door to door and explain to people the benefits of vaccination and clear any hesitancy.”

Arora said, “We did try to prioritise distribution at ration shops for those who are fully vaccinated, then those who have got first dose and then those who are not vaccinated; and also to delay salaries of government employees. So we approached the minority community leaders and religious centres and made them the face of IEC. There was some hesitancy among the SC and the Muslim community at first, but now we are seeing a response and we hope that by this month end we would have vaccinated atleast 70% of the eligible population with the first dose.”

The district collector of Aurangabad, Sunil Chahuan was also in news recently when he issued a circular that those with no vaccine certificate would not get petrol or diesel. He said, “The circular definitely worked as more people are getting the vaccine. Earlier 20,000 people were taking the vaccine which has now gone up to 40,000 daily. We kept our vaccination centres open 24x7 at bigger talukas and in rural pockets we ran the centres early morning or late evening. We appealed to the minority leaders to use their influence and request people to get vaccinated. I myself halted at the villages at night and spoke to village leaders regarding this issue. Our team is working in election mode and if required have stayed overnight at the villages to vaccinate people. I am also conducting a meeting with the doctors in the district and requesting them to ensure that every person who comes to the OPD has the vaccination certificate.”