TN villagers greet health staff who gave Covid vaccine shots

KALLAKURICHI: While people in some rural pockets of Tamil Nadu have been evading vaccination drives, a village near Ulundurpet has a different tale to tell. All residents above the age of 18 who were eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 received the jab, and then offered gifts and gave a traditional Tamil send-off to the staff who came to vaccinate them.

Sikampattu village in Kallakurichi district has 993 people above the age of 18, as per government records. Barring those who relocated, and the 15 Covid patients and 15 pregnant women in the village, the remaining 715 eligible people had been vaccinated by last Saturday, said a local source, adding that seven people above the age of 80 had also not yet received the jab. Dr K Kathiravan, from the primary health centre in Kiliyur, said the villagers were initially hesitant.

“When we first organised a vaccination camp, only a few villagers came, as the rest feared the vaccine would kill them. We educated them through area nurses and panchayat workers, but even then, not many came forward. Meanwhile, 15 people in the village tested positive for Covid-19 and two died. This created panic, following which we told them to get vaccinated to prevent more deaths,” he said. 

The villagers then started taking the jab. “All eligible people came forward, and we achieved the 100 per cent vaccination mark by Friday. However, on Saturday, vaccinations were allowed for pregnant women too, and on that day itself, two pregnant women from the village became the first in the district to get vaccinated. The rest of the pregnant women are ready to take the jab, but vaccines aren’t available,” the doctor added. The villagers offered the Health department staff, fruits and thambulam, and thanked them for their efforts.