MANALI: The health department teams in Himachal Pradesh’s remote and high altitude district of Lahaul-Spiti fight not only Covid-19 but also extreme weather and difficult terrain. Their hard work came to light on Wednesday when Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted images of their night vaccination campaign.
Mandaviya posted that he was proud of these people seen working in the dark. Lahaul-Spiti has many remote villages, where these team go door-to-door to ensure 100% vaccination, in sub-zero temperature.
In the posted pictures, the workers are vaccinating the villagers in the flashlight of a mobile phone.
Covid-19 district surveillance officer Dr Ranjeet Vaid said: "The pictures belong to Jundha village. We had a target of giving the second dose to all its remaining seniors at home on Monday and Tuesday. The teams had to endure tough climbs to Naingar and Chokhang. On way back to the headquarters, a team got delayed but it didn’t leave its job unfinished just because night had fallen. We had alerted the villagers to expect these teams."
Dr Vaid said: "Lahaul-Spiti’s terrain is challenging but the teams didn’t complaint, even if they had to trek far and cover every house in freezing cold." Lahaul has only 15,000-odd actual residents but it has a big population of labourers and from outside.
The surveillance officer said: "We have given 23,000-odd second doses, so far, and are tracing the remaining people by calling on their mobile numbers. We gave about 8,000 first doses to the labourers who have now moved out of the district." Lahaul-Spiti chief medical officer Dr Madan Bandhu said: "The vaccination is almost complete. Before snowfall, we’ll trace the people who missed a second dose."
