Despite limited staff, this PHC has scripted success in vax drive

Mangaluru: Dr Diana Savitha, medical officer, Kaniyoor PHC in Belthangady, and her team has won appreciation from the district Covid officer for working in difficult conditions. With just 50% of the staff, the PHC has managed to administer the first dose of the vaccine to protect against Covid-19, to more than 80% of the population.
Kaniyoor PHC has 10 sub-centres, and is one of the largest in the district, catering to a population of 48,760 in 12 villages. Dr Diana, an Ayush doctor posted at the Kaniyoor PHC, told TOI, “Ever since the Covid-19 crisis, we have been on our toes, mainly because of staff shortage, and difficult geographical conditions. We have no full-time staff at our PHC. For field work, we have only five staff for 10 sub-centres. From January this year, we got two lab technicians to collect swabs for Covid-19, and one data entry operator. The contracts of some of the staff will end this month,” she said.
For a population of around 48,000, the PHC has 43 Asha workers and 63 anganwadi workers. “We have received great support from staff, including taluk health officer Dr Kalamadhu,” she said.
Providing details about the vaccination coverage, she said, “In the age group 18-44, nearly 90% have received their first dose, among those between 45-59, we have covered 78% of the population. Overall, more than 80% have been covered with the first dose and about 60% with the second dose. We also went door-to-door to administer vaccines. This was a big challenge, as some areas had no transportation, and a few lacked roads. We had to cross temporary bridges and hills. We vaccinated 87 bedridden senior citizens and endosulfan victims on Thursday. The PHC also has more than 300 endosulfan victims. They were inoculated on priority,” she said.
While the team has hardly taken holidays, on challenges, Dr Diana said, “Reaching out to the primary contacts on the field and collecting swabs was the biggest challenge. Initially, they would even scold us. Over time, people have understood the importance of swab collection and vaccines.”
Dr Ashok H, nodal officer for Covid-19, Dakshina Kannada, told TOI, “Despite limited staff, Dr Diana and her team have done an amazing job, especially in some of the remote villages where there are no roads. When it comes to administering vaccines too, the success rate has been good. Being a mother of a two-year-old boy, there are days when she has been away from her child,” he said.