JAJPUR: Covid vaccination drive finally took place in the tribal-dominated Nagada village in Jajpur on Monday. Around 176 beneficiaries (106 men and the rest women) of the village and its neighbouring Tumuni and Guhiasal hamlets got the first jab in a camp organised by the district administration at Tala Nagada anganwadi centre.
Doctors and medical staff faced a tough time convincing the highly-reluctant poor and illiterate tribals to take the vaccine.
“The tribals here are mostly unaware of the seriousness of the pandemic and it was a task to persuade them to come to the camp for vaccination,” said Dr Jayadev Nanda, Superintendent of Sukinda Community Health Centre.
The administration had set a target of vaccinating around 250 adults in Nagada and the other two hamlets. As many as 70.4 per cent of tribals have been inoculated with the first jab on the day. Notably, not a single tribal of Nagada has officially been detected with the infection in both the first and second wave of the pandemic.