Use local traditions to step up Covid vaccination drive: PM Modi

Modi said India was vaccinating at the record speed of 1.25 crore vaccines per day, which was more than the population of many countries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a strong pitch for use of local traditions to step up the Covid-19 vaccination drive, citing the experience of a Himachali village where a local deity was invoked to overcome vaccine hesitancy.

Interacting with health workers from Himachal Pradesh, Modi lauded the hill-state for becoming the fastest state to administer the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to all eligible beneficiaries and urged them to keep up the pace to achieve full vaccination.

“Faster vaccination will also benefit the tourism sector, which is the source of employment for the youth,” the prime minister said.

Health workers from the state shared their experiences of overcoming the odds to remove doubts about Covid-19 vaccines.

“In Malana village, we had to invoke the local deity and seek his approval for the vaccination drive,” ASHA worker Nirma Devi told the prime minister.

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Nawang Upashak, a spiritual leader from Lahul-Spiti, said he circulated videos of the Dalai Lama getting the Covid-19 vaccine, which helped him address vaccine hesitancy among locals.

The Prime Minister emphasised using the local traditions in helping the vaccination drive and praised the model of dialogue and collaboration to speed up the vaccination drive in Himachal Pradesh.

Modi also referred to the recently notified guidelines for operating drones or remotely piloted aircraft systems that have the power to change the lives of people in the hill-state.

“Drones can now be used for home-delivery of medicines, for tending to orchards and also for surveying of land. The technology can also be used to ensure security of our forests,” the prime minister said.

The Prime Minister had special praise for health worker Karmo Devi of Una who has administered 22,500 doses of Covid-19 vaccines till date despite a fracture in her leg.

The Prime Minister said India was vaccinating at the record speed of 1.25 crore vaccines per day, which was more than the population of many countries.