COVID-19 | Conquering fear to beat the virus

Can work without a worry now, say health workers post vaccination

January 16, 2021 11:18 pm | Updated January 17, 2021 11:29 am IST - HYDERABAD

Health workers pray prior to the vaccination drive.

Health workers pray prior to the vaccination drive.

A phalanx of police officers stands guard at the door of Area Hospital, Nampally, where 30 health workers are scheduled to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A sub-inspector of police has a list of beneficiaries, and barring doctors of the hospital, staff, and a small number of mediapersons, entry is not permitted to anyone else.

The vaccine recipients here are largely ASHA workers and nurses of the hospital. Kaushalya, head nurse at the hospital, was among the first to get the vaccine. Sitting on a bed even as she was being observed under the watchful eye of Superintendent P. Sunitha, post administering the vaccine, she says, “During the pandemic, even when the cases were rising, I was not afraid. After taking the vaccine, I feel safe.”

A staff nurse of the same hospital, B. Jyothi, tries to allay fears with regard to safety of the vaccine. “There is no need to be afraid. All of us have taken the vaccine. I have not had any side effects. After taking the vaccine, I feel I can work with more confidence,” she says.

Mohammed Jahangir, who is part of the housekeeping staff at the hospital, says his family was supportive about him getting the vaccine. “They were happy about it. I didn’t feel anything before or after taking the vaccine,” he says.

Dr Sunitha said there have been no issues related to the Co-WIN app.

Similar scenes were witnessed at the District Hospital, King Koti. A group of ASHA workers from the Urban Primary Health Centre in Boggulkunta – Vasantha, G Swathi, Parveen Begum and Masooma Fatima – flashed their thumbs after taking the vaccine.

“I was hesitant initially, but there is nothing to worry about,” she says. Parveen Begum asserts the vaccine will enable them to work without any worries of being infected with the virus.

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