Vaccine hesitancy slowing efforts to inoculate differently-abled

Of the total number of persons with disabilities, only 18% were vaccinated in Nilgiris

Vaccine hesitancy is slowing the district administration’s efforts to vaccinate 5,429 persons with disabilities against COVID-19 in the Nilgiris.

According to figures from District Differently Abled Welfare Office, 988 persons, or 18% of the total number of people living with disabilities who are eligible for the vaccine, have been administered the COVID-19 vaccines in the last week.

“Awareness campaigns were organised prior to the immunisation drive, with Non-Government Organisations and volunteers involved in spreading information among the population that the vaccines were safe,” said R. Malarvizhi, District Differently-Abled Welfare Officer

The volunteers were used to identify the differently-abled persons in the district, and health workers had been sent to their homes to administer the vaccines, officials said. “However, there is still hesitancy among the targeted population, with one out of every four to five persons refusing the vaccine,” said Ms. Malarvizhi.

“People call us to get the vaccine, and some of them then have second thoughts stating that they are undergoing treatment, or have other underlying medical issues,” she added.

Officials said they would continue to visit the homes of the 5,429 people who had been identified to get the vaccine, and monitor their health after they took the vaccine, while those persons who refused the vaccine would be sensitised to the benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We expect the vaccination drive aimed at differently-abled persons to scale up considerably in the coming weeks, and hope to get all eligible persons above the age of 18 vaccinated soon,” added Ms. Malarvizhi.

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