COVID Vaccination: Kolhapur hits a milestone, with a little help from loudspeakers, WhatsApp

People line up for the coronavirus vaccine in Mumbai. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File) Usage of loudspeakers to bust myths surrounding the vaccine, circulating photographs of inoculated persons among villagers, dedicated vehicles to ferry senior citizens to vaccination centres – all these along with a few other measures employed by the administration in Kolhapur have ensured the Western Maharashtra district leads the state in the number of Covid-19 vaccinations in the 45+ age group. As of May 2, the district had a vaccination rate of 59.7 percent, double the state average of 29.1 per cent. On Friday, the number of people who have received at least one dose of the vaccine reached the 10-lakh mark in the district which has an estimated 12.73 lakh people aged above 45. The milestone is not purely due to chance — A concerted effort was made across Kolhapur city as well as rural areas to ensure maximum number of eligible citizens were vaccinated since the programme began in January, said district officials. An official said that after initial apprehensions about vaccination were seen among some people, the district administration decided to reach out to create awareness among citizens through various means. In villages, loudspeakers used…
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