In Jammu and Kashmir, a 120-year-old woman in Udhampur has emerged as the ‘poster girl’ of vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy in J&K has resulted in slow progress for the Covid-19 vaccination drive of March and April this year.

An official said that Dholi Devi, 120, a resident of village Ghar Katiyas of Sub Division Drudu, Tehsil Latti in Udhampur, was administered her first dose at a vaccination camp. The official said that “Ms. Devi has set an example for younger people.”

A family member of Dholi Devi, who had accompanied her, told the media that they felt more confident to come forward for vaccination.

He added, “Vaccine is the best shield against the COVID infection. We are very happy to get our eldest member of family vaccinated against the COVID-19 infection.”

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The public was appealed to by the Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Indu Kanwal Chib to cooperate with the district administration in vaccination.

She further added, “The Health Department has been directed to expedite the vaccination campaign in a mission mode and achieve the targets in a fixed timeline.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Jammu, Anshul Garg said that overall positivity rate, which was above 10% in the first week of May, has dropped to below 7% in the past few days.

He said, “Equivalent emphasis has been given on testing in urban as well as rural areas. Around 7,000-8,000 tests are being conducted on a daily basis, out of which 50% have been conducted in rural areas.”

Mr. Garg said that the majority of 45-plus age group persons have been vaccinated. He further added, “Over 3.55 lakh beneficiaries of this age group have been given the first dose of vaccine, and left out beneficiaries will be covered soon to achieve the 100% target.”

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According to official figures, in the past 24 hours, 43 people died of Covid19 and 3,848 new positive cases were seen.

Officials have said, “While 1,442 cases were from the Jammu division, 2,406 were reported from the Kashmir division. Of 43 deaths, 27 were from the Jammu division and 16 were from the Kashmir division.”