SHILLONG, July 29: In hopes of making headway in the campaign for vaccination against COVID-19, Mawhati MLA Dasakhiat Lamare has adopted a strategy of bringing religious leaders and traditional heads into the fold to counter vaccine hesitancy under his constituency.
The Health department and concerned authorities have also decided to engage religious leaders, many of whom have been spreading awareness on the importance of vaccination.
Asked if he needed to adopt more precise strategies to encourage people to take the vaccine, Lamare said he has a few strategies in mind which is different from what other legislators are employing.
He said that the vaccine hesitancy among the villagers in his constituency is very critical. “It is extremely difficult to convince them. But the villagers will need to realise that the vaccine is the only protection from the virus,” the Mawhati MLA said.
Recalling that people were hesitant to enroll for Aadhaar earlier, he said, “There were several conspiracies that people had in their minds. Similar things are happening with the vaccine also.”
Lamare has decided to involve local headmen and traditional heads of different villages to educate and motivate the villagers to take the COVID vaccine.
While pointing out that the vaccination coverage in his constituency is only 15 per cent, the Mawhati MLA said that he has decided to make an arrangement to call the local headmen and traditional heads of different villages when he takes the second dose of the vaccine at Nongpoh.
He also mentioned that a programme will be organised at Nongpoh on the day he gets the second COVID-19 jab with the objective of briefing them about the benefits of the vaccine.
