The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that eighty per cent of COVID-19 cases in India are reported from 90 districts, of which 14 are in the northeastern states, and underlined that “the second wave is not yet over and we should not let our guard down”.
Highlighting specific challenges linked to the northeastern states, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal, said the Indian government has supported these states by following a “proactive, preemptive and a graded approach” to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noting India’s COVID-19 management strategy, he said that there are three important components of the fight against COVID i.e Community ownership of COVID Appropriate Behaviour, Evidence Based Reporting and Busting Myths on COVID and vaccination.
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with UNICEF, held a capacity building workshop for Media Professionals and Health Correspondents of North Eastern States on the current COVID situation in India, the need to bust myths about COVID vaccines & vaccination, and reinforce the importance of COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB).
Media Professionals and Health Correspondents of North Eastern States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura participated in the workshop virtually.
Shri Lav Agarwal while giving a brief snapshot of prevailing COVID 19 situation in the North East India said that 80% new cases in India reported from 90 Districts and 14 out of 90 districts are from North Eastern states. Highlighting specific challenges linked to North Eastern States, he added that the Government of India has supported North Eastern States by following a proactive, pre-emptive, graded approach for fighting the COVID pandemic.
He also shared the details of active cases and the status of vaccination drive in the North Eastern States.
Acknowledging the media as an important stakeholder in creating an enabling environment for vaccination by busting myths, fears and apprehensions surrounding COVID vacciantion, he added that more than 36.48 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country till date.
He urged media persons to create a Jan Andolan (Public Movement) by applauding community warriors as role- models.
Besides various reasons for vaccine hesitancy, which may be local and could vary for different community groups, the workshop highlighted Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), its management, and the best practices while reporting on AEFI. Various queries of the media persons were also addressed during the workshop.
Senior officials of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of I&B, UNICEF, DD News, PIB, AIR News and Health Journalists from across the country participated in the national workshop.
