India is severely affected by the emerging COVID variants. Lack of accessible medical care and networks, coupled with misinformation and fake news surrounding the vaccines among the poorer and uneducated sections of the society have resulted in a massive portion of the population still remaining unvaccinated. Less than half of the population is fully vaccinated as of January 2022, and in this continent-sized country, the smallest of vaccine inequities lead to catastrophic consequences.
As per the WHO, the recent Omicron variant is the most ‘dangerous’ for the unvaccinated, and international studies prove that vaccinated people are up to five times less likely to be hospitalised due to the new variant. Ensuring timely delivery of vaccines to the most secluded regions of the country is now more necessary than ever.
CARE India’s large-scale vaccination interventions have had a prominent focus on the vulnerable, hard-to-reach and left-out pockets through targeted mobilisation in local dialects, involving and employing locals for a deeper community level connect to address vaccine hesitancy. From the hilly terrains of Udaipur to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, CARE India volunteers are making arduous journeys on foot, boat, two-wheeler, or even a horse, to reach isolated communities living in these inaccessible sections.
Activities like nukkad nataks, catchy songs in local languages, and lucky draws are being conducted across the operational locations to motivate people to get vaccinated. To address the hesitancy among women, we have created ‘pink booths’ operated by only female volunteers. In urban districts, our activities include setting-up of 24/7 mega vaccination centres to ensure service delivery in these demand rich cities, mobilisation of mobile vaccination vans, makeshift camps, and existing medical facilities. We are deploying vaccination volunteers on COVID identification and referral guidelines with the aim to timely identify the potential COVID cases through early detection and referral to avoid complications.
We have ensured lakhs of jabs in deep rural, tribal, and tough geographic pockets across Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, and resolve to fortify these efforts further.
We seek your support in successfully completing this biggest vaccination campaign in the world. Your small contribution can bring us a step closer in helping India achieve its target of 100% vaccination and become a COVID-free nation.
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