In a Himalayan village in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, young health worker Masrat Farid packed her bag with vaccines on a frigid morning in January as strong winds swept snow through the air.
Masrat Farid, a health care worker, carries vaccines as she walks on a snow-covered field after administering doses to young girls during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
She is part of a team of health workers undertaking a door-to-door campaign in the region to deliver vaccine shots to teens and boosters to old people in remote mountain villages.
An elderly Kashmiri man who refused to get vaccinated talks to health care workers during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
“We have to fight the infection. We have to keep going,” Farid said as she made her way through the knee-high snow in Gagangeer, a hamlet lying between forests.
Jaffar Ali, a health care worker, administers a dose of Covishield vaccine to Ghulam Yousaf Mir during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
Farid and her colleagues have vaccinated thousands in the last year, mostly in villages that they reach by trekking long distances across rugged countryside. But bone-chilling cold and snowy inhospitable terrain are not their only obstacles.
Kashmiri village girl Safia Banoo, receives vaccine for COVID-19 from Masrat Farid, a health care worker, as her family members warm themselves near a heater in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
Some residents are still vaccine-hesitant and winning their trust is more difficult than braving the Himalayan winter.
Team of health care workers and doctors carry vaccines as they walk on a snow-covered road during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
“Most young girls are hesitant, fueled by misinformation and mistrust,” Farid said during a recent vaccination drive in a snow-covered mountain village. She was referring to the false belief that the vaccine impacts or even prevents pregnancy.
Kashmiri village girls watch as Ameena Banoo receives the vaccine for COVID-19 from Masrat Farid, a health care worker, during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
“We are not only inoculating them against the coronavirus, we must also educate them about the vaccines to earn their trust,” she said.
An elderly Kashmiri woman Arsha Begum receives the Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 from Fozia, a health care worker, during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
In a new phase that began this month, the health workers are inoculating teens in the age group of 15 to 18 and giving booster shots to people above age 60 with health problems.
Fozia, foreground and Tasleema, Kashmiri health care workers, carry vaccines as they walk on a snow-covered road after administering a dose to an elderly woman during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
The boosters, which Indian health officials call a “precautionary” shot, are being given to high-risk groups who were among the first to receive vaccines last year and whose immunity may be waning.
Fozia, a healthcare worker, prepares the Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 before administering to an elderly woman during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
Jaffar Ali, a health official, said the top challenge so far this year has been harsh weather – unlike last year when some of his colleagues were harassed by locals during the vaccination campaign, as many residents thought the shots caused impotence, serious side effects or could even kill.
A Kashmiri villager girl stands outside her home after she refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the health workers watch during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
So far, health workers have fully vaccinated over 72% of eligible people out of the region’s 14 million population, according to official data.
Fozia (R) and Tasleema, Kashmiri health care workers, carry vaccines as they walk on a snow-covered road during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
Health officials recently hiked to some villages which were cut off from the nearest towns due to heavy snowfall and vaccinated residents there – including Khag, a forested village where the residents are mostly tribal and live in houses made from mud, stone or wood.
Kashmiri village girl Tanveera Banoo stands at the entrance of her house after receiving the vaccine for COVID-19 during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
Arsha Begum, an elderly blind woman, expressed her gratitude as a medical team visited her home and gave her a booster shot inside her house. “It would not have been possible for me to go to a hospital in this harsh weather. I am immensely thankful to them,” she said.
Masrat Farid, a health care worker, prepares to administer a booster dose of the Covishield vaccine to Ghulam Hassan on a snow-covered road during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
