In Bangalore, the vaccine race facing the third wave
Audio 02:44
A medical worker updates the number of doses available at a dispensary in Bangalore.
© RFI / Côme Bastin
By: Côme Bastin Follow
7 mins
After a second murderous wave linked to the Delta variant, India has been breathing since July.
But while only 13% of the population has received two doses of the vaccine, a government expert committee announces an imminent third wave.
To contain it, it's a race against time.
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It is 10 am and the line in front of the vaccination center is already long. In this medical dispensary in the south of the city, we receive assembly lines and without an appointment. Sanjib, a migrant worker, has just been vaccinated: “
I was finally able to receive my first dose. Before, I was in my village, in the mountains of Assam. And there were no slots for weeks. Every day,
1,000 people came for 100 available doses.
"
Head of the health center, Dr Geetha almost lost her husband during the second wave.
Today, she wants to go as quickly as possible: “
Today, we are going to vaccinate 700, maybe 1,000 people.
In the neighborhood, about 50% of the population has been vaccinated.
The problem is that our doctors have realized that the populations of the slums are very reluctant.
For example, many are alcoholics and think the vaccine will have side effects.
"
A pilot project to convince the most skeptical
To convince the most skeptical sections of the population, the city of Bangalore has launched a pilot project. Teams go door to door in poor neighborhoods. Dr. Geetha invites us to follow their work. We enter the courtyard of a first house. “
Hello sir, we are doctors and work for the municipality. Have you received your two doses of vaccine?
»
Asks the doctor. “
I received them, but not my son. He came to the center several times, but there were no doses, so he gave up,
”answers a resident
.
“
Now we have lots of doses. We are going to take his number and find him a niche,
”then continues the young woman.
To each passer-by, the team of doctors distributes leaflets with the address of the center.
A resident complains of side effects.
“
She has trouble moving her arm.
But I think it's related to the drugs she's taking for high blood pressure.
I suggested that she go to the center so that we can observe it and that she can receive her second dose,
”explains Dr. Geetha.
A young woman opens the door to the teams.
She says she is vaccinated, but not her father, who is diabetic.
"
You really have to tell him to come."
People with diabetes are more likely to fall seriously ill from the coronavirus,
”insists the doctor.
A titanic task
An application allows medical personnel to note the state of health of each inhabitant.
But covering the whole area will take time, admits Dr Geetha: “
Let me calculate… There are 70,000 households in the neighborhood and each of the three teams covers 150 houses per day.
So it's going to take us five months at this rate!
"
Ultimately, the municipality intends to open centers in areas where the population has insufficient immunity.
It is still necessary to cover the 198 districts of the city.
The pilot program concerns only two.
Lack of doses, lack of personnel or fear of the vaccine: the road to a vaccinated India is still long.
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