The Union Health Ministry on Sunday urged community radio stations to bust Covid vaccine myths particularly among people living in remote and far flung areas of the country. The Health Ministry’s request came during a workshop it conducted in collaboration with UNICEF for representatives of community radio stations from 16 states to bust myths related to COVID vaccinations and to educate people on Covid-appropriate behaviour (CAB).
In his opening remarks, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary with the Union Health Ministry, appreciated the contribution of community radio stations in India’s vaccination drive against Covid-19. He also noted that sustained efforts of such radio stations by airing informative programs on Covid vaccination has translated into increased community participation in the ongoing vaccination drive.
The radio stations were urged to highlight community-led positive initiatives and role models to strengthen vaccine trust among communities that they cater to. The issue of mental health linked to COVID-19 was also focused upon, the ministry said in a statement.
Community radio programmes in regional language aimed at educating communities about importance of Covid-appropriate behaviour, addressing myths and misinformation linked to vaccines and creating awareness on vaccination progress is resulting in uptake of vaccination among many tribal districts of India, the Ministry statement read.
The collective responsibility to address mental health issues among communities through informative programming by engaging with subject experts from the state and national level was stressed on, it said.
The radio stations were asked to continuously remind listeners about the need to strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour as the second wave is still not over: the virus can strike back as soon the society ignores health advisories and lowers its guard against Covid safety protocol, it said.
Joint Secretary Agarwal answered their various queries and applauded their continued support to widen the net of authentic information in the regions.