Vaccines for reluctant Melghat tribals at job guarantee scheme worksites

Nagpur: Even as the state government plan to start door-to-door Covid vaccination is stalled in the high court, the Amravati district administration has already implemented something like it. If not at the doorstep, the vaccine is being taken to the work place of locals in the remote Melghat hills, and at some places it’s being taken to each remote village.
A week ago, vaccination began at the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) sites in Melghat, a pocket infamous for malnutrition deaths. With a largely tribal population, the administration had a tough time getting the locals vaccinated, as their beliefs go against it.
Even as there has been some progress, a lot more effort is needed. Apart from the stigma, even losing a day’s wages by skipping work was preventing vaccination, officials felt. Most locals depend on MNREGS works for livelihood. If the villagers cannot reach the vaccination centre, the shots are now being sent out to them at the work sites. There over 350 MNREGS sites in the area.
“It’s just the beginning and we are still facing some reluctance,” said Dr Jayshree Kalamkar of Taluka Health Office (THO) at Dharni in Melghat. “At one camp, there were 500 workers, but only 60 got vaccinated. We are trying to convince them, but there are notions that the vaccine may lead to infertility or even death in a couple of years,” said Kalamkar.
Ironically, the push by the district administration has also led to Melghat having the first fully vaccinated village in 45+ category last month. However, the overall vaccination figure remains low, said officials.
Deepali Sethi, sub-divisional officer (SDO) Dharni, which includes Melghat pocket, said all precautions are being taken in such onsite drives. Vaccines are taken to sites which have primary health centre (PHC) or a sub-centre close by. An ambulance is kept on stand by. So far no reactions have been reported in any of vaccination cases in Melghat, she said.
After rains, the works in MNREGS centers will stop, and locals are expected to work in the fields, where they may be contacted. The basic idea is to take the vaccine wherever they can be found in groups, said the officer.
Members of the village panchayats are being convinced to get vaccinated and set an example. This has happened in a couple of villages. A meeting of sarpanches was held to push the idea, said Sethi.
A similar drive is under way in the rest of the district too, where vials are being sent to the villages since a week. A couple of days ago, a bus service too was started in the urban areas, said district collector Shailesh Nawal.
“It’s not exactly door-to-door, but we are taking the vials where at least 30-40 persons gather, as it is not feasible to open a vial for a few persons,” he said. This has led to decentralization of the vaccination drive, he said.
Meanwhile at Melghat, around 25,000 persons have taken both doses. The testing has also increased four times with camps being held at market places. This is being done to ensure that number of positive cases do not remain down only because people are not getting tested.