Covid-19: Rajasthan's tribal district of Pratapgarh achieves 100% target of double vaccination

Pratapgarh, one of the most tribal populated districts of Rajasthan has set an example and denied the myth that it is not easy to vaccinate tribals.

Pratapgarh has become the first district of the state to achieve the 100 per cent target of double vaccination. Pratapgarh is the district where 89 per cent of the population is tribal and lives in forests and remote areas and most of the villages are in dense forests or at hilltops. Some panchayats become islands during rains.

"We used boats, bicycles, motorbikes and sometimes our health workers had to walk long distances to reach the beneficiaries," said Dr VD Meena, chief medical and health officer of the district.

He said that there are some areas in the district where people were not ready to get vaccinated as they were misinformed and had a belief that getting the vaccine would reduce masculinity or women would not be able to get pregnant.

"The health people were misbehaved in some areas but somehow we convinced them," said Meena.

The administration used the national food security (NFSA) data for identification and authentication of beneficiaries to achieve the target as it was not possible to get them registered for vaccination.

"We identified people with the NFSA and other government schemes data, collect their Adhar numbers. It helps us to conduct vaccination at their doorstep or their workplace, said Prakash Sharma, the district collector of Pratapgarh.

The district is also a front runner in the vaccination drive of 15-18 age groups and has achieved 71 per cent of the target till now.