Mumbai: Hesitancy related to Covid-19 vaccine still a challenge for Dharavi residents

As the number of Covid19 cases rises in Mumbai Dharavi has also seen a slow increase in the number of Covidpositive cases in June As of June 19 the largest slum in Mumbai Dharavi has 65 active Covid19 casesAccording to the local community group that works with adolescents in Dharavi a few families and children still face vaccine hesitancy and fear that the vaccine may cause harm to their bodiesSchoolgoing 14yearold Almas Jamdar is one such resident of Dharavi who fears taking the Covid19 vaccine According to her even if there is a lot of awareness created on how the vaccine is safe she still prefers to not inoculate the vaccineAlmas Jamadar says ldquoI stay in a family of nine members Hardly three of them have taken the vaccine One of my eldest sisters recently took the first dose as she will be attending college Even if I go to school I still choose to not opt for taking the vaccine out of fear Many times we hear the news on TV and through word of mouth that people who have taken the vaccine are the ones getting infected with the virus and in a few cases people have died toordquoAlso Read Covid19 Mumbai reports 19 deaths in 20 days 73 per cent fatalities among people aged above 50SNEHA a nonprofit organisation which has been working across the vulnerable slums of Mumbai with their adolescent programme named Empowerment Health and Sexuality of Adolescents EHSAS has developed a Covid19 appropriate behaviour module to create awareness about the virus It is working with around 1600 adolescents in Dharavi According to them around 75 per cent of the adolescent in Dharavi are vaccinated at least with one doseOnil Kulkarni Program Coordinator EHSAS Program SNEHA says ldquoThere is still a lot of vaccine hesitancy in the beneficiaries People are not really welcoming the vaccination drive Most of the working class beneficiaries have been taking vaccines because of the vaccine mandates in the office or workplace We have been encouraging people to visit the nearby health post or the vaccination centers to get themselves vaccinatedrdquoHe adds ldquoWhile a lot of NGOs and also the government authorities are working on the ground in Dharavi to create awareness about the vaccine benefits and the virus still a few people are doubtful whether to take the vaccine or notrdquoWhile precautionary dose for 1859 age group is chargeable through various social initiatives the doses are made available free of cost in Dharavi So affordability or financial issues are a problem for many beneficiariesThis month BMC also started lsquoHar Ghar Dastakrsquo door to door campaign across Mumbai to motivate beneficiaries to get vaccinated as the number of Covid19 cases is risingAnother teenager from Dharavi Pallavi Waghmode 16 who has taken the first dose of the Covid19 vaccine says ldquoNow I am eligible to take the second dose I havenrsquot yet planned when to take it but will surely complete my vaccine doses There were few Covidpositive cases in my family so I realise the importance of the vaccine and the precautionary measures that need to be taken Most of my family members and friends have at least taken one doserdquoAccording to the civic body authority they are targeting local schools colleges and health posts in Dharavi to increase the footfall of beneficiaries between the 1218 age group