Thiruvananthapuram: A group of medical teams in remote Panchayats in the district has stripped kilometers along the winding lane for more than a month to complete tiring assignments to complete vaccination drives in Panchayat and tribal settlements.
Set with a vaccination target of more than 18,000 people spread across 38 Panchayats and nine tribal settlements, medical teams consisting of doctors, nurses, Asha workers and tribal promoters have so far reached 80% of the first dose vaccination against those in the category 45 plus age and around 60% of the first dose coverage for 18 plus age categories.
It’s not just a forest and slippery path they have to handle for the past month.
These doctors must review settlements repeatedly to create awareness, a misunderstanding of battle and bust myths that have long been embedded in their minds.
“Sometimes, we spend about 45 minutes with one person to convince them about the need to get vaccinations.
Often many settlements are difficult to reach and we take four-wheeled vehicles to approach settlements and then we will walk to each center,” said Dr.
Joy John, medical officer, Kuttichal.
The team in Amboorori will go every day at 10 am, and because of the field and other factors, even after spending all day, they can sometimes cover 40 people a day.
“When it rains, our trip must be stopped because the vehicle will not move forward.
Often we reach these places on foot.
During our vaccination, there are interesting examples as we can vaccinate people who have not yet reached a tablet or vaccine throughout their lives.
They have heard about Corona and follow the right behavior by wearing a mask.
Initially, we limited our surveys in these fields because we did not want to cause an outbreak.
Then, when we started watching, some people would come and notify us not to bring They are to quarantine if they test positively and if we do it, they will jump to the river.
We can convince them all about ways to prevent infection and they are aware of the need to be vaccinated, “said Dr.
Pradeep, medical officer, Amboriori.
The medical team is capable of being assisted by Hamlet Ashas, ​​coming from the same community.
“They will create the right awareness and many people are willing to come for vaccinations.
This helps us schedule the appropriate drive.
We also organize registration places in our hospital for people,” said Dr Rajeev, medical officer, Bharathanoor.
The team must also balance their daily routines and often will appear to be on duty without failing after draining the trip to and from tribal settlements located in remote areas.