A Punjab village With ‘100% vaccination’, How a reluctant angle was acceptance

ON JUNE 12, Ludhiana district’s Bhikhi Khatra grew to become the primary village in Punjab to realize the standing of “100 per cent vaccination”, nevertheless it was not a straightforward activity.
The villagers wanted a lot convincing to take the Covid vaccine, which required a number of visits by well being officers to their properties. The panchayat is to get a Rs 10 lakh grant as introduced by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
Health division official Dr Sukhwinder Singh stated 50 per cent of the villagers needed to be requested repeatedly to get the jab. The village has a inhabitants of 1,700, out of which 947 have been adults. “A total 905 have been vaccinated, 18 were pregnant females who could not be vaccinated as there are no guidelines for them while the rest 24 were medically unfit for vaccination i.e their chemotherapy was going on or a few were having some other serious ailments and hence doctors did not give consent. Hence, under these conditions, 905 needed to be vaccinated and hence the 100 per cent target had been achieved,” he added.
Out of the 905 villagers, 166 have gotten each doses whereas the remainder have taken the primary shot.

Mandeep Singh, one of many panches of the village panchayat, stated, “In March, nobody from the village got here ahead to get them vaccinated, however in April, a couple of of them went for his or her first jab. There are 4 villagers aged above 90 years and after they acquired their first jab in May, a lot of kids felt motivated. This is how we achieved our 100 per cent goal.
“Harpal Kaur (97), Bhagoo Devi (93), Mahinder Kaur (92) and Gurmail Singh (91) have got their first doses. They were cited as an example to youngsters, due to which they felt encouraged and came forward. Out of 905 villagers, nearly 500 got themselves vaccinated without much hassle but for the remaining 405, our health teams had to make repeated visits to their homes,” stated Dr Sukhwinder.

A group of a neighborhood well being officer (CHO), an auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) and two accredited social well being activists (ASHAs) posted on the village’s well being and wellness clinic labored onerous to realize this goal, stated Civil Surgeon Dr Kiran Gill. This group was additionally honoured by DC Varinder Kumar Sharma on June 21 at his workplace. ANM Kiran Rani and ASHAs Gagandeep Kaur and Mandeep Kaur have been handed over cheques price Rs 1,100 every as properly.
CHO Jaswinder Kaur stated, “It was not an easy task. We daily read the news on how vaccines are reaching the remotest villages of India and how health teams are convincing residents. I am happy that we also got inspired from such stories and hence became part of them.”
Bhagwant Singh, ex-sarpanch of the village, stated, “I am 49 years old and I have got both doses. I am hale and hearty. Earlier there was a sense of fear among the villagers regarding side effects of the vaccine, but as the cases started increasing and even rural areas got hit hard, everyone started falling in line to get the jabs.”

Asked what they are going to be doing with the Rs 10 lakh grant, panchayat member Mandeep Singh stated, “We will be using it to improve the structure of the village dispensary building and its approach road. We hope that the grant will be received by the village soon.”
Lakhvir Singh Lakha, MLA of Payal constituency, below which this village falls, stated, “Health teams deserve this credit and we hope more such villages join Bhikhi soon.”