On Boats, Assam Health Workers Take Vaccine To River Islands Amid Floods

NDTV travelled with one such team. The target of this team is Tapobori char- a riverine island

The worsening flood situation in Assam has made the task of health workers carrying out Covid vaccination drive even more challenging. These health workers have to take boat rides to vaccinate thousands who live on chars and chaporis - riverine islands that dot the Brahmaputra river. NDTV travelled with one such team. The target of this team is Tapobori char - a riverine island - and to vaccinate 600 people living there before the floods completely cut it off. Kamrup district has 55,000 people living on 27 islands waiting for the jab. "Now since there is floods the challenge is one level higher; our front line workers have to be always in the flood waters while even vaccinating," said Monika Deka Dutta, the Block Programme Manager (BPM) of National Health Mission (HNM) at Hajo of Assam's Kamrup district, 40 km west of Guwahati. The vaccination camps are either under the shade of a tree or on the boat itself. Doubly challenging is poor connectivity and vaccine hesitancy among some villagers.