PM Modi likely to felicitate 52-year old Karmo Devi who inoculated over 21000 Covid doses

Himachal Pradesh is going to be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for becoming the first state in the country to have inoculated 100 percent 18+ population with at least one dose of Coronavirus vaccine on September 6. In the success story of the northern Himalayan state lies the contribution of innumerable health workers including one Karmo Devi whose efforts stand out.

The 52-year old health worker Karmo Devi has administered a whopping 21,881 doses of Coronavirus vaccine alone at the government hospital of Una district. The exceptional contribution of Devi single-handedly could be gauged from the fact that out of the 35k odd doses administered at the hospital, Karmo Devi alone inoculated 21,881 doses which is almost two-third of the entire inoculation conducted at the centre, the Indian Express reported.

Dr Nikhil Sharma, medical officer and in-charge of the vaccination centre told the Indian Express that the staff was extremely scared before the beginning of the vaccination drive but Karmo Devi came forward and readily agreed to vaccinate the beneficiaries. Sharma further said that when CoWin portal was facing glitches initially, it was Devi who manually wrote the beneficiaries’ records and later helped store the same data on the portal.

Speaking to the Indian Express, Devi said that she was not scared of the vaccination drive as she knew that vaccines are the sole safeguard against the virus. She further said that after taking due precautions, she went on to complete her job everyday. From the beginning of March till May, Devi went on relentlessly vaccinating scores of beneficiaries at the hospital. She mentioned that her work did not stop even on Sundays and the gazetted holidays as there was mounting fear of the second wave of Coronavirus and the administration wanted to administer vaccines to as many beneficiaries as possible.

In addition to the fear of the deadly virus, what made the journey harder for Devi was a small accident in which she fractured her leg on July 4. While the hospital administration advised the rest of about four weeks, Devi was back on duty after the passage of eight days. Dr Raman Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer told the Indian Express that Devi was one of the most dedicated staff members of the hospital team and she continued her job despite being unwell. Overwhelmed by the news of her likely conversation with Prime Minister Modi, Devi said that she would be honoured to speak to the Prime Minister.