J&K did it: First village in India to vaccinate 100% of 18+ population [details]

India's vaccination drive has covered 23 crore people, but there's a long way ahead, for which PM Narendra Modi on Monday announced a slew of measures to further the goal of Tika Utsav, a mass COVID vaccination festival. Leading by example is the UT of J&K and one village in particular that has successfully vaccinated 100 percent of the 18+ population. Everyone above 18 years of age in the village of Weyan in Bandipora district has been successfully vaccinated, which is a first for India.

The J&K officials had to overcome various challenges to achieve this landmark feat. As Dr Bashir Ahmed Khan, Chief Medical Officer, Bandipora, said, Weyan is a village of nomads without any access to the internet and there's no route to this hilly terrain. The officials had to make a dangerous trek to make sure every single eligible individual in Weyan was vaccinated.

Where is Weyan?

Weyan is located 28 kms from Bandipora and only 10 kms up to a place called Athwatoo is accessible by road. The remaining 18 kms have to be covered by foot as it is a hilly region.

"Entire populations above 18 years were vaccinated, with total 362 beneficiaries. It is pertinent to mention here that the people of the village go to the upper reaches along with cattle during summer so it was important to reach out to them before they move out," Dr. Bashir noted.

State Immunization Officer Dr. Shahid Hussain lauded the teams' relentless efforts to reach the corners of the district, despite the difficult terrain and poor mobile connectivity.

J&K's 10-point strategy

J&K has adopted a 10-point strategy to vaccinate the masses at an accelerated pace. Overcoming the challenge of vaccine hesitancy among people, the UT has a record achievement of more than 70 percent for above 45 years of age, which is twice the national average. In addition to booth-level management, the UT followed "Vaccine on Wheels" to reach people in far-flung areas such as Weyan.

"We have also worked out prior micro planning and execution at each session site and involved Police and Media in crowd management and awareness. We have constituted in every district a dedicated team of health care workers, who were ready to work even during holidays and weekends. Coordination between various departments, like Utilization of services of teachers and Booth Level Officers as verifiers and their training by Directorate of Health and Family Welfare as another key feature of J&K model," Dr Shahid Hussain said.

COVID situation in J&K

J&K on Monday saw 977 Covid cases and 16 deaths, in the lowest numbers recorded since the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic. According to officials, 288 cases and seven deaths were reported from the Jammu division and 689 cases and nine deaths from the Kashmir division. There were 4,178 discharges from hospitals after recovery. Also, one new confirmed case of mucormycosis has been reported in the valley, taking the number of black fungus cases to 16.