Visits and dialogue: TN’s way to vaccinate tribals

CHENNAI: The Health department has been making giant strides in vaccinating vulnerable groups of people against Covid-19. But there have been strong challenges in administering the vaccine to members of tribal communities, largely due to misinformation spread via WhatsApp forwards.

Recently, a few tribal men from a settlement near Sadivayal in Coimbatore district climbed trees to avoid Health department staff who had arrived to administer the vaccine. The department has now planned to counsel them. Deputy Director of Health Services (DDHS) S Senthilkumar said the department recently held a counselling session for tribals in Valparai.

“The elderly people in the hamlet were asked to explain the benefits of taking the jab. This helped in inoculating many tribals,” he said, adding that they would make similar effort in other settlements in the district.

Field health officers from Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur told Express many members of tribal communities fear getting vaccinated as they believe it would mean they can’t consume alcohol. An officer from a PHC in Peruncheri, who went to vaccinate the tribals in Venkatapuram village of Tiruvallur, said his team was not allowed in the hamlet for two days. “Only after repeated attempts did they let us in. Since we already knew members of the community, they agreed to get vaccinated. But of the 60 eligible people, only about 10 took the jab on the first day,” the officer recounted.

However, within a week, all eligible residents of the hamlet were vaccinated. Similar incidents were witnessed in hamlets at Kadambathur and Red Hills too. An official said some people in Red Hills agreed to get vaccinated only after awareness camps and regular dialogues were held. “Some of them felt vaccines cause severe health complications. Most of their understanding came from WhatsApp forwards,” a field officer from Chengalpattu said, adding that engage in frequent dialogues with the community to dispel misinformation. But despite the odds, officials have managed to vaccinate many tribals, especially in the Nilgiris.

The hesitancy in getting vaccinated is mainly because of the lack of exposure and remoteness of their locality, say tribal rights activists. “Moreover, the infection rate among them is low,” said Azhagesan, Chengalpattu’s district secretary of the State Tribal’s Association. Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said the government is roping in NGOs to reach out to tribals and get them vaccinated. “They might be more hesitant due to a lack of exposure to modern medicine. But eventually, we will cover all of them in the vaccination drive,” he said.Officials said most of the NGO that are roped in would be from the community, as they would be able to interact with the tribal people better.

(With inputs from Coimbatore)