Srinagar: A remote hamlet in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir has become the first village in India to vaccinate all its adult population against COVID-19, officials said on Tuesday. The credit goes to the healthcare workers whose strenuous efforts shot Weyan hamlet, with an adult population of 362, to national fame, they said.
"The village is located only 28 kilometres away from Bandipora district headquarters, but a distance of 18 kilometers has to be covered by foot as there is no motorable road, an official of the health department said.
He said the task of vaccinating all the residents was even more difficult as the village consists of nomadic families who go to higher reaches for grazing their livestock. "There is no internet access in the village. So it was not possible for the residents to get appointments for vaccination like the way people in urban areas do," Bashir Ahmed Khan, Chief Medical Officer, Bandipora said while explaining the difficulty faced by the healthcare workers.
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The vaccination in the village was covered under the 'J&K model', which is a 10-point strategy to vaccinate the entire eligible population at an accelerated pace. Despite initial vaccine hesitancy, Jammu and Kashmir has achieved 70 percent vaccination in the 45+ age group, almost double the national average, the official said.
Commenting on the achievement, Yatish Yadav, media advisor to Jammu and Kashmir government, said the Union territory was raising the bar in the Covid vaccination drive. "#JammuAndKashmirModel. And we thought up to now that Everest was the highest and toughest peak of the Himalayas. But, some journey brings a new light, a new life. Team J&K raising the bar on vaccination drive," he tweeted.
(With agency inputs)
