TURA: The beginning of the month long Measles-Rubella Vaccination programme that started off with the schools of Garo Hills, on Monday, was a success in many places, particularly the urban areas, but vaccination teams out on duty are facing challenges in the rural areas as prejudice and superstition among parents has resulted in several schools in the villages remained shut due to absence of students.
The single dose Measles-Rubella vaccination is a major government programme across the country aimed at eradicating the two diseases that have caused the death or physical and mental damage of many children over the years.
Reports have been trickling in from several places in the rural belt of Garo Hills where parents, out of superstition, have been opposing the vaccination drive even though many others have come forward to participate in the programme.
Interestingly, despite the opposition to the vaccine in some villages, the first day of the immunization programme witnessed record number of children in schools stepping forward to take the jab and obtain immunity against the two diseases.
While the highest number of vaccination was recorded in schools across Tura, Williamnagar, Baghmara, Resubelpara and Ampati, there were setbacks in rural schools, particularly the border belt.
Schools in Gasuapara, Jatrakona and Dimapara area, located close to the international border with Bangladesh in South Garo Hills, were found closed when vaccination teams arrived in the morning.
“In one school in Jatrakona, due to fake news and superstition, children had not attended classes for an entire week and only one lone teacher was present when our vaccination team visited the school,” inform medical sources from South Garo Hills.
Even at Don Bosco School in the heart of Baghmara town, where the MR Vaccine programme was kick-started, parents of four children studying in the school reportedly gave in writing to the school authorities their decision not to allow vaccination of their wards despite hundreds of other students happily taking the vaccine on the first day itself.
“There were no problems at all and every child who took the vaccine went about their daily routine, it was a complete success,” said a medical doctor involved in the vaccination programme.
Villages located in the interior and remote areas appear to have been the biggest obstacle to the vaccination due to “anti-vaxxers” propagating false reports and stories to the villagers.
In Chokpot region of south Garo Hills, out of 18 schools where children were to get their MR vaccine, only three schools were open with a reduced attendance of students.
The fifteen schools that were found shut were located under Silkigre Primary Health Centre zone.
“What was most glaring was that it was not only the students who remained absent, but even the teachers and headmaster did not turn up to open the schools,” said a member of the vaccination team.
Failure on the part of teachers to mobilize parents in the villages about the benefits of having the MR vaccine for their children is learnt to have been one of the main reasons for the initial hiccups in the programme.
Similar reports of schools remaining closed have come in from even the plain-belt region of west Garo Hills district.
When vaccination teams visited the areas where schools did not open up, they were met by some parents who informed them that they would prefer to go through the vaccination process after seeing the results of other places.
“It appears they want to wait and watch the outcome from other areas before joining the vaccination drive,” said doctors from Tura who are monitoring the programme in the plain-belt region.
A total of 262 schools in West Garo Hills district are targeted for the MR vaccination programme. Medical teams believe the vaccination drive will smoothen up in the next few days as more and more schools and children queue up for the vaccine.