TIRUCHY: Little did E Tharani (22), who is only two years into her dream job as a nurse, expect to be honoured alongside 71 others as the ‘Best Women Vaccinators’ in the country by the Union health ministry on International Women's Day. One among the two chosen from Tamil Nadu for the award, the nurse at the urban primary health centre (UPHC) in Beema Nagar credits the door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination drive for her officially administering 3,02,705 doses in a year’s span.
Tharani, who was appointed to the UPHC right before the pandemic struck, said she took up the challenge of working through it without any hesitation. She started vaccinating people against Covid-19 right from January 2021, when the nationwide inoculation drive was launched.
She has since been part of door-to-door drives, mega camps organised by the Corporation, and vaccination at the UPHC itself. She says that the major challenge was convincing people to take the jab.
"We used to go door to door for vaccination, and that's how we were able to vaccinate a large number. I would talk a lot to convince people to take the jab. I would give them my own example, that I am vaccinated and perfectly fine. I used to counsel them, and told them not to be afraid. Vaccination is our only protection against the disease. I was glad to be able to help people get a shield against the virus," she said.
Tharani, who has fulfilled her dream of becoming a nurse, hopes to achieve bigger things and serve more people.
City Health Officer (CHO) Dr M Yazhini said, “Each and every nurse, not just in our Corporation, but all over the country, has done an exemplary job. They have sacrificed all their holidays and worked non-stop.” Mentioning them to have not stopped even when mega camps witnessed serpentine queues, Dr Yazhini added, “Beema Nagar UPHC was the centre that performed the maximum vaccinations (in Tiruchy city) and Tharani was one of the reasons for that. She deserves all the accolades."