Mizoram to coax those having Covid vax hesitancy on religious ground

AIZAWL: The Mizoram health department has decided to launch a vaccination drive in which people who are reluctant to take the shot on the basis of religious beliefs will be persuaded to get inoculated, state nodal officer for Covid-19 vaccination Dr Eric Zomawia said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, another drive was launched last week to vaccinate bed-ridden people at home.Zomawia said there also are many people who have got t he first dose administered, but have refused to take the second shot. People who have refused to get inoculated on religious grounds have created hurdles in achieving 100% vaccination status in the state, he said.
State immunisation officer Lalzawmi told TOI that a drive has been launched to ensure inoculation of vaccine-hesitant people, for which over 100 “mobilisers” will be employed to convince people belonging to religious cults to get jabbed.
Lalzawmi said over 50 “mobilisers” have been imparted training, while 70 others will be trained on Wednesday. A mobiliser will be given an incentive of Rs 50 for bringing one vaccine-hesitant person to the vaccination centre, she added.
The drive to vaccinate people belonging to different religious cults will soon be undertaken after completion of training of the “mobilisers”.
Lalzawmi also said over a thousand people in Mizoram would be vaccinated in their respective homes during a drive that had been launched last week. She said to achieve 100% vaccination of people belonging to 18 years and above, those bed-ridden due to ailments and other problems were being jabbed in their homes. “We will not be able to cover all the 11 districts at one go, but we have commenced ‘home vaccination’ in five districts,” she said. She added that 761 people who were unable to venture out to get vaccinated have been identified in the five districts. A large number of people did not want to participate in the census, did not want to enroll in voter lists, refused to have ration cards and did not allow their children to attend educational institutions due to their religious beliefs.