Why tribal population is Covid-19 vaccine-hesitant

Even as Cyclone Tauktae badly hit the tribaldominated talukas of Palghar district suspending its vaccination drive the local health machinery is challenged by a more formidable adversary mdash vaccine hesitancy Healthcare workers have cited helplessness in getting tribals inoculated as people believe that getting the vaccine will give them Covid19 The problem is so acute that even the sitting MLA from Dahanu did not turn up for the inauguration of a centre out of fear of being vaccinatedA woman gets vaccinated in Mokhada talukaAdditional District Health Officer ADHO Dr Milind Chavan and DHO Dr Dayanand Suryawanshi told midday that all Primary Health Centres PHCs Rural Hospitals RHs and halls of private companies in the district have been converted into vaccination centresDr Chavan said ldquoThere are 83 vaccination centres in tribaldominated talukas including Jawhar Mokhada Vikramgarh Talasari Dahanu Palghar and Wada excluding Vasai The total population of tribals in Palghar district is over 17 lakhrdquoldquoTill date we have managed to vaccinate 260 lakh tribals aged 45 years and above and 33000 people who fall in the age bracket of 18 and 44 years The latterrsquos vaccination has been stopped till further orders from the state government Our target is to vaccinate eight lakh tribals above the age of 45rdquo Dr Chavan said adding ldquoBut they are not turning up at the centres the turnout is lessrdquoA source at the Palghar Zila Parishad told midday that the sitting MLA from Dahanu Vinod Nikole too did not turn up to get the vaccineldquoNikole was invited by the Block Development Officer BDO to inaugurate a vaccination centre at the PHC of Amgaon in Talasari He was told that after the inauguration he will be given the first dose of Covid19 vaccine His photograph taking the vaccine would have helped encourage tribalsrdquo said the sourceThe district administration is trying to spread awareness by reaching out to sarpanches through webinarsldquoBut Nikole did not turn up fearing the vaccination He is a public figure he should have come forwardrdquo the source said middayrsquos calls and messages to Nikole went unansweredThe chairman of a central governmentappointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra Vivek Pandit said ldquoThe literacy rate is low They do not have faith in the healthcare system and the state government has not started an awareness campaign in the tribal area yet This is why they are scared of the vaccinerdquoAlso Read lsquoAct before the third Covid19 wave wipes out our next generation kidsrsquoPandit also said that the online booking for appointments is a farce as therersquos no mobile network in tribal areas ldquoTribals hardly use smartphones How will they book vaccines online Those who do own them have no networkrdquo Pandit saidWalking 10 km for a shotDuring a spot visit to the tribal villages a tribal Ajay Bendkoli from Kawalpada village in Mokhada taluka told midday ldquoWe donrsquot know what Covid19 is why would we take a vaccine for itrdquoPandurang Mala the sarpanch of Khoch village said ldquoThe nearest PHC is in Vashala at least 10 km from Bedukpada villagerdquo Khoch is another 7 km away from Bedukpada ldquoWhy would people travel such long distances to get a vaccinerdquo Malak saidA vaccination centre in Jawhar talukaldquoThe lack of transport is another reason behind tribals not getting the shots They have to either take their motorcycles or walk or spend on transport Why would an elderly person take such pains to get vaccinated There should be a doortodoor servicerdquo a source saidSources in the health department also said that tribals often escape to the jungles when health workers visit for checkups or Covid19 testing ldquoThis discourages our workers on the ground who travel long distances to reach the tribalsrdquo a source saidCiting yet another reason for a low turnout at vaccination centres Dr Suryawanshi said that most of the tribals believe that they will get infected after taking the shot ldquoGenerally people fall sick due to the sideeffects of vaccines Tribals consider that as getting infected with the virus itself Hence they are not coming to vaccination centresrdquo Dr Suryawanshi saidEfforts at awarenessldquoSince tribals have no information on the disease our field workers are visiting different talukas in Maharashtra and with the help of megaphones or loudspeakers spreading awareness about the pandemic and the steps to take to safeguard themselvesrdquo Pandit saidDHO Dr Suryawanshi said ldquoWe have identified a group of adolescents in the tribal belt as Covid19 volunteers With their help we will address early detection of Covid19 and vaccinationrdquoLack of transport apart from misconceptions is a major deterrent behind people not visiting health and vaccination centres in the tribal beltldquoWe will also take the help of ASHA and Anganwadi workers as they are locals and are connected to the residents Our priority is to know all the reasons that are making people hesitant about taking vaccinesrdquo Dr Suryawanshi addedThe Zila Parishad office has also sent letters to all sarpanches in tribal areas to join a webinar on Facebook where they would be taught the importance of social distancing wearing masks in public places hand washing and other Covid19 protocols Such an event was held by the district administration earlier too Dr Suryawanshi added that the PHCs are equipped with internet and sarpanches can join the webinars there The internet also allows for spot registration for those who walk in for the vaccineldquoWe are conducting a webinar with all sarpanches They have been asked to encourage villagers to strictly adhere to Covid19 rules Earlier all sarpanches were hiding But the webinar would be helpfulrdquo said a source in the health departmentWith the power supply snapped the vaccination drive will resume in the tribal belt when the restoration of collapsed electric poles is complete33No of people in thousands vaccinated in 1844 age group83No vaccination centres across Palgharrsquos 7 talukas