Rayagada: The Odisha Government is laying emphasis on vaccination to contain Covid-19 in the state. People are also seen lining up in large numbers at vaccination centres to get themselves vaccinated.
But the case is different at Champakana village under Kailashpur panchayat of Kolnara block in Rayagada district. A team of the Health department that visited the village Wednesday to vaccinate the villagers had to return without administering even a single dose to anyone.
The Champakanna villagers are known for swearing by superstitious practices. Aware of these facts, local healthcare officials had visited the village June 7 and convinced the villagers to receive the vaccine, saying it will protect them from Covid-19.
Accordingly, a team of the Health Department visited the village Wednesday with as many as 100 doses of the vaccine. They waited at the designated vaccination centre put up in the village till noon. But none turned up to receive the doses. With no option left, they had no other option but to leave the village.
The health workers said they were told that the villagers had already left the village before their arrival to avoid inoculation.
When contacted, Kolnara Community Health Centre (CHC) official Dr G Sailaja termed the incident as true.
“The villagers had been requested several times to get vaccinated. A team reached Wednesday morning to administer doses only to find that the eligible beneficiaries had already fled from the village,” the officer added.
PNN
