Villagers jump into river to avoid Covid-19 vaccination in Uttar Pradesh

The health officials at a village in Uttar Pradesh were taken aback when people, on seeing them, fled their homes and ran towards a nearby river. They even jumped into the river, when the officials reached the river bank.

It was as if a police team had raided their village to nab some dreaded criminals.

The bizarre scene was witnessed at Sisauda village in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district when a team of health officials reached the village on Sunday to vaccinate the residents against Covid-19.

According to reports, around 200 people, who did not want to get vaccinated, fled their homes. As the health officials and the vaccination team were on the road, they ran toward the river bank.

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They jumped into the river, when the officials, trying to persuade them to get the shots, reached the river bank.

Fearing that many of the villagers might drown in the river if they went any further, the officials assured them that they would not be vaccinated.

The officials had a tough time persuading the villagers to come out of the river.

Reports said that only 14 people could be vaccinated in the village, which has 1,500 residents. ''It is due to lack of awareness...we will soon launch an awareness campaign in the village,'' said a senior district official in Barabanki.

Earlier also, health workers had faced problems in testing and vaccinating people against Covid in some districts in UP.