VACCINATION - A BIG CHALLENGE IN RURAL INDIA

 

The whole world is crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic has put a few millions to sleep forever. Some have lost their loved ones. Many countries have seen many more waves. India has already seen two deadly waves of the magnitude that became unbearable at a certain point of time. The bell is already being rung to make everyone cautious for the third wave. While the first wave had seemingly spared the rural population, the recent surge has severely impacted the districts, towns and villages of India. Our best bet is to be safe, follow the protocols and be vaccinated to be a part of the solution. 

In the second wave, the situation had become quiet unfortunate as the people in rural India could not even reach health centres. As far as the health infrastructure is concerned, we know the real picture. It was not even enough to support the city people; how can we expect the best for the masses. Thus, this time we can be better prepared. As per the experts and scientists, the pandemic is here to stay for a while and we can defeat it only by taking precautions and getting vaccinated without hesitation. In the present crisis, the vaccine seems like a silver lining in the sky full of clouds. Keeping this in view, the government is giving full emphasis on vaccination drive and we must support to accelerate the effort. 

It is not a full proof guard but at least, the vaccine will help us to fight it out, feel protected and get back to the activities that we love. Halfway through the year, vaccination drive is under way all over the world. Every country is encouraging its people to take up protection. Indian government is also committed to providing safe and effective vaccines free to everyone, no matter where they live. India’s official massive vaccination drive was launched on 16^th January, 2021, with two approved vaccines- Covishield and Covaxin.

As of 15th July, as per reports from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) India has administered over 415 million vaccine doses. Nearly 30 percent population is India has received one dose and nearly 5 percent is fully vaccinated.  The US, for instance, has fully vaccinated 41 per cent of its population.

 

Vaccination gap between urban and rural population

There are about 6.28 lakh villages in our country wherein nearly 60 per cent of our country’s population lives in and that too without health insurance. Thus, we cannot just count our urban population and consider matter closed. The real challenge lies in reaching out to the rural areas.

While our rate of vaccination needs to speed up, we are also facing vaccination hesitation. The government should keep in mind that there should not be a big vaccination gap between urban and rural population. Otherwise, the State government will have to deal with the increasingly daily cases. There must be a strong emphasis on vaccination in rural areas as in urban areas. In fact, only then the rural areas will be saved from corona virus infection.

First of all, it is necessary to make the communities aware of what the vaccine is and what its purpose is in rural areas. In the absence of such primary information, people tend to believe in rumours and misinformation.
Despite the availability of data regarding the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine, there is mistrust and lack of information among people about the vaccine across the country. There is more so in rural, backward and tribal areas where technology has little access and the government’s message on vaccine or covid appropriate behavior is also limited. 

 

Fear of vaccination in rural areas

Vaccine hesitancy in rural areas is a major hurdle. It can be understood from the recent instances. Even after explaining the benefits of vaccine in many ways, locals are not comfortable to take the vaccine. A report from the state of Bihar confirms that there is still fear in the minds of people regarding the vaccine of covid in rural areas. As soon as the Covid Express reached the village, people hid in their homes. Vaccine Express had to go back from many panchayats.

When a team of health officials went to explain to the villagers of Khagaria in Bihar about the vaccine, the villagers, including women, opposed them. Here, the villagers poured mud on the officers' vehicle. 

In different parts of the country, villagers are refusing to get the vaccine. In some states, superstition has led to this and in some places, lack of proper information.

In rural areas of Kanpur, the villagers are not reaching the vaccination centre even after repeated appeal. In such a situation, now Gram Pradhans have taken the lead and they are trying to convince people. Everyone is being explained that there is no danger from getting the vaccine.
People of rural areas of Rajasthan say that if they get the vaccine, they will fall ill. Some villagers say that if the vaccine is administered, death can also occur. These rumours need to be affixed asap. 

 

Need to instil confidence in the people

The biggest challenge before the government is to instil confidence in the people about the vaccine which is the need of hour. Therefore, there is a need to adopt an effective communication and a comprehensive awareness strategy. Until we bring a change in the mindset of the people of rural India regarding the vaccine, we cannot reap in the complete benefit of vaccination.

 

Once the hesitation is removed and the doubts are cleared, the drive will become more and more effective. More and more people must step in and encourage each other to get vaccinated. Apart from this, areas difficult from technological and geographical point of view should be selected first and an effective strategy should be adopted to eliminate these challenges there. For this, the messages should be in the local language and it needs to be tailored to the socio-cultural background of the communities. At the same time, there is also a need to focus on the diversities and weaknesses of the state such as rural, tribal, non-tribal and very poor people. Attitude (Behavior)-Right information will bring right attitude towards vaccination. And only then will people be ready to get vaccinated.

 

Priority to given to the backward and remote villages

Last year, NITI Aayog released a list of 100 most backward districts, presenting a picture of the country's backwardness. These districts are located in remote areas wherein the road and railway connectivity is very poor. In these backward districts, there is frequent drought or they have to face the wrath of floods. These areas also have a high population of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities. In such a situation, the challenge increases further in rural and tribal areas. The primary health centers in such areas are always short of medical staff. These areas must be catered differently and in time. 

 

Need of training to health workers

Another challenge as part of the vaccination drive in the rural remote areas of the country, is training the health workers. There is a shortage of resources with the Health Department in many districts of the states. Due to lack of resources and health department personnels, the work of vaccination has not been the way it should be. As a result, the condition of vaccination in far flung areas is not very good.

 

Anganwadi workers can be utilized effectively for this task because they have successfully carried out targeted vaccination campaign under the Country’s Universal Immunization Programme earlier. Before assigning the job of vaccination in rural areas regarding Covid-19, they are required to be given training as to how to make this drive a success. Besides, Regional and Block-level working groups can ensure the swift and effective delivery of vaccination, as and when they become available, via door-to-door drives or other community interventions. Besides, vaccination centres should not be spread out beyond the reach of the public otherwise it hampers in acceleration drive.

 

Apart from this, volunteers involved in promoting the vaccination work in rural areas need to make more efforts and show extra patience and caution in order to ease the doubts and confusion among residents. The administrative bodies should come forward to dispel the concerns of villagers. Moreover, until the work of vaccination is completely accomplished, it should be ensured through public awareness campaigns that every person living in the village should use mask/gamchha, maintain hand hygiene and social distancing as a protective shield.