No Covid Case In Assam's Remote Area, But Officials Fight Vaccine Hesitancy

For rural vaccinators, it's almost a daily routine these days to reach out to inaccessible remote area so that the last mile is covered

Rural health workers in Assam's Kokrajhar district, braving forests, streams and bad roads to reach Lungsung forest near the Bhutan border. In this tribal community here, which hasn't reported a single COVID-19 case, rumours about the vaccine have triggered a reluctance to take the shot. So a medical team led by senior district officers had to work hard to debunk myths and convince them that vaccination vaccine is a must. Among the first to be persuaded to get vaccinated was Karun Toppo, 48.

"Here we have heard a lot of rumours and few of our folks who have smartphone also shown videos of health hazards due to the vaccines. We have heard rumours like it is bad for pregnant women, men will become infertile, thus we were hesitant but now I am convinced that I have to take the jab," Karun Toppo told NDTV.

His neighbour, Menna Ekka, said everyone was terrified since there was a strong buzz about pregnancy issues due to vaccines. "People thought they will die within five years and in fact people had no idea of what the vaccine is all about," Menna Ekka said.

For these rural vaccinators, it's almost a daily routine these days to reach out to inaccessible remote area so that the last mile is covered and the last people are vaccinated, but the biggest challenge for them is to break vaccine hesitancy.