Karnataka: Gadag achieves 100% vaccine coverage among teenagers

GADAG: A month after the state government launched its drive to vaccinate those in the 15 to 17 age group, Gadag district has succeeded in administering the first dose of the vaccine to all those in this group – the first in Karnataka to achieve the feat.
Gadag district health officer Dr Jagadish Nuchin told TOI, “The response was lukewarm initially since the teenagers and their parents were apprehensive about taking the jab, fearful of complications.”
Poor response to the drive prompted the district health department to organise a slew of awareness campaigns, which entailed teachers offering counselling to children, and helping rid them of their fears over taking the jab.“We also allayed fears about any problems that may arise from taking the vaccination. Gradually, fear dissipated among high school children and students of pre-university colleges, all of whom started to troop in to camps to receive the first dose of the vaccine,” Dr Nuchin said.
Teams were constituted comprising employees of primary health centres to raise awareness among the children and their parents on the benefits of taking the vaccine at the grassroots. “They were entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that all children in the prescribed age group were administered the first jab in all villages. We also involved ASHA workers in the drive,” the DHO said.
Each ASHA worker was assigned the task of covering 200 households in each village, while workers in urban areas were asked to visit high schools and colleges to encourage children to get the jab, Dr Nuchin said. “We also prepared a list of children who had either dropped out, or were working in the fields, or relocated. We obtained consent from parents to inoculate the children. All these steps helped us vaccinate 55,735 children in the 15-17 age group in a span of four to five weeks,” he added.
Trailing Gadag district in inoculating teenagers in the 15-17 group is Kodagu, which has achieved 98% of its target, while Uttara Kannada has managed to administer the first dose to 84% of those in the age group and in Bagalkot, 82% of those in the prescribed age group have been vaccinated. “Shivamogga, Haveri, Mandya, Dharwad and Vijayapaura districts too are inching closer to 100% coverage, and will achieve the target in the next few days,” a source said.
Health minister K Sudhakar lauded the officials of Gadag for their achievement on Twitter.