https://countercurrents.org/2022/03/covid-vaccination-fears-persist-in-remote-villages/
Lack of clarity, accountability and education
In Pilkhana, only a few people could be vaccinated under the ‘Har-Ghar Dastak’ campaign. When some villagers were asked why they chose to get vaccinated, the reasons had nothing to do with fear of Covid. Instead, they replied that they got vaccinated to avoid problems accessing state supplied rations or to be able to travel and work.
In more normal times, in villages like Pilkhana, people have to walk for miles to obtain treatment for various ailments. When they saw the vaccination campaign reach their doorsteps there was suspicion in the minds of villagers as to the very purpose of the entire exercise.
The vaccination drive and the urgency associated with it created fear in the minds of villagers about possible adverse effects and the subsequent difficulties involved in obtaining treatment as there are no hospitals for miles around.
When the villagers of Pilkhana were asked about vaccine hesitancy they explained it by saying ‘We don’t have to go somewhere on an airplane so why get vaccinated?’ or ‘There is no Covid in our village’. There are still many such misconceptions like this, which remain an obstacle to increasing vaccination coverage.
By Shirish Khare
20/03/2022