Jharkhand, one of the states with the lowest Covid vaccination coverage so far, is betting big on the upcoming Chhath Puja to boost numbers, its top officials told News18.com.
While the government data shows that the state has vaccinated around 60% of its population with the first dose and around 20% with the second, state officials say that Jharkhand has vaccinated many more people who have now migrated to other parts. The data with the state shows, it has vaccinated 1.5 crore people with the first dose out of the total beneficiary population of 2.4 crore whereas 33 lakh people are still due to take the pending second dose.
Now, with the objective of achieving 100% coverage for the first dose by the end of Chhath Puja week (November 10), the state has initiated micro-level actions including door-to-door vaccinations, vaccine vans and deployment of call centres for due date reminders and counselling.
Prickly issues
In fact, state health minister Banna Gupta told News18.com that while Jharkhand is fully prepared to take on the challenge and can inoculate 5 lakh people every day, the central government discriminates against it and it’s also running short on vaccine stock.
“Jharkhand government is determined for the prevention of corona. We have done good work with limited resources. The state government is also fully prepared for the vaccination programme. Our capacity is 5 lakh per day. But the central government discriminates against us and we are short of vaccines. However, we are determined to give 100% vaccines to the people of the state,” Gupta said.
As of October 29, the state has a balance of 27 lakh doses available.
“We were planning to go on mission mode and launch a campaign to vaccinate 3-5 lakh people in a day. However, with a low balance of vaccines available with us, mission mode is currently not possible,” a bureaucrat working with the Jharkhand government told News18.com.
The state has started accelerating the drive by preparing district-level plans.
“In view of sub-optimal coverage of Covid19 vaccination and a very high number of due and overdue beneficiaries awaiting the second dose, there is an urgent need for districts to undertake strict Covid-19 vaccination management measures by analysing and targeting the poor performing blocks to achieve the coverage of all beneficiaries,” said Arun Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary, state health and family welfare.
Singh, in a letter dated October 25, has instructed mission directors, district nodal officers, civil surgeons and state immunisation officers for “focused and targeted action” to maximise the vaccination coverage.
Singh has instructed officials to start micro-level planning and prepare a list of eligible beneficiaries election booth-wise.
“Preparation of micro-plan to cover all eligible beneficiaries, both for 1st dose and ‘due’ & ‘overdue’ beneficiaries awaiting 2nd dose,” said the letter.
‘Migrant’ roadblock, initial hesitancy and complacency
Odisha, a state with similar geographical areas as Jharkhand, has vaccinated 2.5 crore people with the first dose of vaccine and around 1 crore population with the second dose — resulting in coverage of 57% and 24% of the population, respectively.
The central government has created a cut-off of 77% coverage for the first dose and 33% for the second dose — which are the national averages of the first and second shot, respectively. The states where the coverage is below the cut-offs have been asked to devise special strategies and up the ante.
According to Jharkhand government officials, the state has been struggling with the issue of migrant workers — people who work in other states and keep traveling back to their families.
“We have vaccinated more than 60% of the population. In real-time, the vaccines administered by us will exceed 70 to 75%. However, those people were possibly migrant workers who moved out of the state as soon as economic activity resumed,” Singh said.
This matter was raised in internal meetings as well as with some states that people who are not even part of their population were also vaccinated.
“Now we are planning to jump on the opportunity of the upcoming Chhath Puja, an occasion when everyone will come back home. It will give the state government an excellent opportunity to start a door-to-door vaccination campaign,” the officer said.
The second dose, the officer said, is a challenge. “Once the first dose is done, people tend to forget the 84-day interval for booking a second dose. We need to remind them,” he said while adding that 33 lakh people in the state are due for a second dose.
According to the new plan, officials will visit every home to check if the first and second doses have been taken by everyone and, if not, they will be vaccinated on the spot.
Considering the geography of Jharkhand that has forested lands, the state has also kick-started 60 mobile vaccination vans called “teeka express” with the aim of sending them to remote areas and villages.
“All deputy commissioners have been asked via videoconferencing to take a printout of details of people who are due to get the first and second dose. They have been advised to open a call centre and start contacting all those who are yet to take their pending shots,” said Singh. “Apart from sending reminders via calls, if people are not willing to come, the work of counselling will also be done.”
The state, six months ago, was facing difficulty in convincing the rural and tribal belts. However, it took help from religious leaders such as maulvis, pandits and padris, to convince the population to take the jabs. “These belts are not uneducated. The problem of vaccine hesitancy is no more an issue. Also, our industrial areas are now fully vaccinated,” Singh said.
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