Covid-19 in India: How this health official convinced people to get vaccinated

Jammu - It is with his help that the authorities managed to convince people in the 45-years plus age group, and vaccinated them.

Many people in rural India have a fear for vaccination. And this was evident in Sunderbani block in Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir for months, where hundreds of villagers used to run into the forests when they saw medical teams approach them for anti-Covid vaccinations.

But finally on Wednesday, with the help of a block medical officer, who was also a member of the Gujjar community that lived on the hilltop of Sunderbani block, the authorities managed to convince people in the 45-years plus age group and vaccinated them.

Dr Manzoor Khan, the officer, had just recovered from Covid and accompanied the team to explain to the villagers in Gojri language about the benefits of the vaccination. Khan told the media that Sunderbani block had reported 1,226 Covid cases and 22 deaths in the second wave; Rajouri district has seen the second-highest deaths (212) after Jammu (1,118) since the start of the pandemic last year.

The vaccination team, which had to travel half a dozen times to convince the villagers about the need to get vaccinated, had to trek through tough terrain to reach the village. They also faced heated arguments with many of the villagers in some places and Khan had to convince them about the need for vaccination.

• India