M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec.28: Altogether 35 young boys and girls have been hired to start giving vaccine wake-up calls to those who have so far bunked their second dose in Garhwa district despite their due dates passing long ago.
Around 84,000 first dose takers of the Covid-19 vaccine are putting off their second dose on causes as varied as they can invent.
In-charge civil surgeon Garhwa Dr Kamlesh Kumar said, “We have engaged a fleet of 35 energetic boys and girls to give wake-up calls to the beneficiaries for the second dose of the vaccine. The call starts outgoing from 9 sharp in the morning and it goes on till 5 in the evening.”
Dr Kamlesh said that this arrangement has begun on December 25 and will be wound up on December 30. On average, these 35 callers make around 5,000 wake up calls a day to the beneficiaries. They are being given Rs.500 per day for the job.
He further said this team receives a myriad of responses. The rural beneficiaries are modest and respectful in their responses. They tell frankly whether they have taken the second dose of the vaccine or not.
On the other hand, the urban beneficiaries snub our callers’ team not to disturb them as they are already preoccupied with their own issues and problems, reminded Dr Kamlesh.
Sources said that such massive outgoing calls to the beneficiaries of Covid vaccine’s second dose have not been reported from any of the other 23 districts of Jharkhand.
