BAGEPALLI: Officials are facing challenges in vaccinating residents of five Lambani villages, or tandas, in Chikkaballapur district, with those aged between 18 and 44 especially reluctant to take jabs.
Unfounded fears of side effects and rumours that vaccination might lead to infertility are driving the hesitancy.
On a few occasions, officials who wanted to create awareness were reportedly stopped.
The villages — Parvathipura, Lakshmana, Koyigutta, Saddapalli and Papannakunta — are located on the Karnataka-Andhra border.
Lambanis here sell knickknacks or toil in the field.
Some left to work as domestic helpers in Bengaluru and other places.
Saddapalli, the biggest of the five tandas, has 162 households and a population of 782.
Only two out of 418 Saddapalli residents in the 18-44 age group have taken the vaccine.
Forty-five out of 114 people in the 45-59 category and eight of 60 people aged 60 and above have taken jabs.
Panchayat development officer Bhagyalakshmi of the Gulur gram panchayat, which covers the five villages, said when she tried to raise awareness about vaccination benefits initially, residents fled to their fields or did not allow her vehicle to proceed.
District health officer Dr Indira Kabade, Bagepalli tahsildar Diwakar DA and taluk health officer Dr Sathyanarayana Reddy have also made trips to persuade people.
Diwakar said he had made three visits in the past month, but people were not coming forward to take jabs.
Some are strongly against the idea, saying they are prepared to accept infection risk, while a few others fear they will have to take rest because of side effects and lose out on daily earnings.
There are also misconceptions related to drinking alcohol post-vaccination.
This is a far cry from the situation elsewhere in Gulur gram panchayat, which is spread over 13 villages and has a population of 6,252.
Many want to take the shots, and there are usually long queues at the Gulur primary health centre.
Officials plan to send doctors and folk art troupes to the five villages to change people’s attitudes.
Infertility rumour drives vaccine hesitancy in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district
