J&K model: Success story of Weyan, first village in country to vaccinate entire adult population

Srinagar: Nomad Village Weyan of district Bandipora of Jammu & Kashmir has become the first village where entire populations above 18 years have been vaccinated. 

This record is attributed to the 'J&K Model' under which the administration decided to reach out to the people, instead of people coming to the vaccination centre.

Dr Bashir Ahmed Khan, Chief Medical Officer, Bandipora said “due to difficult terrain the vaccinators had to walk around 18 KMs on foot to reach this village.

“It’s a village of Nomads having no access to the internet so the health officials decided to take a difficult journey in this north Kashmir village and save precious lives. There is no route and it is a very dangerous trek but we didn't rest until the last eligible person got the vaccine dose," he added, “the village is at a distance of 28 KMs from Bandipora town and the initial 10 KMS journey is by road up to a place called Athwatoo, then 18 KMs by foot located on the hills.”

Health Department of area claims that Entire populations above 18 years were vaccinated, with a total of 362 beneficiaries. It is pertinent to mention here that the people of the village go to the upper reaches along with cattle during summer so it was important to reach out to them before they move out.

"J&K Model” has adopted a 10-point strategy to vaccinate the entire eligible population at an accelerated pace. Despite initial vaccine hesitancy, the current achievement is more than 65% for above 45 years of age, which is much higher than the national average of vaccination. 

The first strategy is booth-level management involving preparation of eligible population list followed by “Vaccine on Wheels” – reaching out to people in far-flung areas. State Immunization Officer Dr Shahid Hussain said.

“We have also worked out prior micro-planning and execution at each session site and involved Police and Media in crowd management and awareness. We have constituted in every district a dedicated team of health care workers.  

Despite having difficult terrain (Shopian, Ganderbal) and poor mobile connectivity, the teams were relentless to vaccinate far-reaching corners of the district and deploying influencers such as religious leaders, local elders to counter vaccine hesitancy among people and making both districts Shopian and Pulwama 100% vaccinated of above 45 years age group with the first dose of vaccine.