Greetings all, 

It all starts by getting your temperature taken

We have had a number of people ask us about COVID19 vaccination for the refugees. As we mentioned in our blog of July 10 we mentioned a key role for humanitarian aid organizations is to advocate for vaccines for people who are marginalized. Here in Bangladesh the government agreed quite early on that it was important to vaccinate the Rohingya refugees since they are living in a setting of 40,000 people per square kilometer where social distancing is virtually impossible.

A first round of vaccinations was held in the camps in July. But this campaign was only for refugees 55 years of age and older. So it was a relatively small (though very vulnerable) proportion of the camp population. The coverage of the population was, thankfully, very high. The vaccination campaign was  successful, and there seemed to be high acceptance of the vaccine among that target population. 

There is always registration - in this case a thumbprint

The 2nd round of vaccinations started in December. This campaign includes everyone 18 years and above. We were thankful that the government agreed to allocate vaccines for all adults in the camp population! Including 18 years and above means that our Rohingya volunteers can also get vaccinated. In a recent listening project that Phil did with our volunteers, they expressed concern about the lack of social distancing when they do home visits. So this will hopefully reassure them some!

There is always lot of preparation involved in mobilizing the refugees for campaigns like this (there was recently an oral cholera vaccination campaign as well). It involves our volunteers making multiple home visits to raise awareness for the need, local neighborhood awareness raising, holding community meetings and, on the day of the vaccination, going to moblize people so they come to the clinic for the vaccination. 

The actual jab!

We are super thrilled that the camps where our two health posts are located (Camps 20 & 20 Extension) have the highest levels of vaccination (as of 9 December) of the current campaign in the mega camp (see the chart below - the camps in Teknaf started their campaign earlier)! These high levels aren't dependent solely upon our staff and volunteers, but it is an indication that they are doing a super job of mobilizing the Rohingya in their blocks (neighborhood areas) to come and get the vaccine. The campaign is set up to systematically work through every neighborhood in the larger refugee camp to not leave any one behind.

There is vaccine hesitancy among the Rohingya, like there is amongst people around the world. Some of the initial hesitancy was related to concern about how new the vaccine was and how quickly it was developed. After the first round in July, many of those rumours have been dispelled. The most significant barrier is that in Rohingya culture young women do not want men to touch them. So all of the vaccination points have had to ensure at least 1 female vaccinator per location as well as a couple of female volunteers. In addition, a private area to get vaccinated is set up for females. 

The Rohingya seem quite happy to get the vaccine at this point. And we are thankful for the protection that this affords them. It is only one piece of the prevention puzzle. But it is a significant piece. 

As of yesterday 18% of the target of 389,369 vaccinations have been reached. Of course, this is only the first dose - the second one to follow. However, during October and November the Health Sector conducted an Oral Cholera Vaccination campaign using the same approach. During that campaign more than 754,000 people 1 year and older received 2 doses.

Health Sector partners (including Medair) are hoping for a 90%+ coverage during this campaign. Part of what makes this campaign is that the vaccination points are located in health posts that continue to provide other services. For instance, in C20 they are vaccinating around 190 people/day - and providing health care to a similar number of people. 

In the video below you will see someone who was challenged in terms of mobility but still wanted to get vaccinated. Community health volunteers helped to bring her to a vaccination point.

Praise: 

• For the government advocating and providing vaccines for the refugees
• For staff who have had to step into new roles and have thrived in those roles!
• For our (2-year) annual party - finally got to have one again on Thursday evening!

Prayer:

• For nutrition staff and volunteers as we hand over our 7 clinics to other nutrition partners. Some will be hired by these partners. Others will not. And the number of volunteers is being reduced. 
• For the handover process in general.
• Good health for all staff and volunteers.