“COVID-19 second wave has started affecting children below 18 years. When the third wave hits, children will be most affected and if parents are hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Tamenglong CMO Dr G Majachunglu on Wednesday.
She said this during a one-day district level sensitisation and consultative meeting on COVID-19 and vaccination for church leaders, NGOs, ADC, women organisations, student bodies, district and sub-divisional administration at Shekinuh Inn, Tamenglong district.
Majachunglu said that there is no other way to boost the immune system in the body except through vaccination. Of all the 255 total COVID-19 positive active cases in Tamenglong, 66 patients are below 18 years of age.
The sensitisation and consultative meeting was organised by district administration and District Health Society Tamenglong, sponsored by State Health Society Manipur.
World Health Organisation Manipur division Surveillance medical officer, Dr Apao and Manipur Health Society additional director Dr Tomcha Khuman spoke as resource persons in the programme. Tamenglong DC, Armstrong Pame, Tamenglong SDO, Rohit Anand, Tamenglong CMO, Dr G Majachunglu, Tamenglong district immunisation officer, Dr Sunil Kamei shared the dais.
Pastors, priests, religious leaders, chairmen, nurses, leaders from different NGOs also attended the sensitisation and consultative meeting on COVID-19 vaccination.
Armstrong explained how the people refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He appealed to all the religious leaders and NGOs to take urgency for mass vaccination. He informed that the vaccination is not done by nurses but doctors with full medical kits to treat any person when there are adverse effects from the vaccination.
He further said that among 1,189 total positive cases in the district since April, only 20 persons are reportedly vaccinated.
He continued that the church has a big role to clarify the doubts and rumours which are spreading in social media platforms on COVID-19 vaccine and urged the church members to get vaccinated.
Dr Sunil Kamei said that out of 62,205 eligible people for vaccination in Tamenglong, 15,624 people have been vaccinated so far, which is only 25 percent of the vaccination rate.
As people believe and obey only pastors and religious leaders, he urged all the priests, pastors and religious leaders to encourage their church members to vaccinate before it is too late.
The two resource persons elaborately explained the people on COVID-19 and its prevention, and also myths and facts on COVID-19 vaccination.
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