Viral Video: Woman Health Worker Attacked For Taking One Day Off In Bihar

Bihar Health Worker Attacked: After a woman health worker was attacked by a hospital staff member Jamui district of Bihar, the grassroots health workers in the area have threatened to boycott vaccination duty. A video of the woman health worker getting attacked by a hospital staffer for not reporting to work for a day has since gone viral on social media.

The incident took place in the Chakai block of Jamui district. The woman health worker is an Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife. In the viral video, a staff member of a local hospital where COVID vaccination was taking place is seen rebuking a woman and then charging towards her to physically assault her. People around try to intervene and distance him from the woman worker. Then the staff is asked to leave the compound.

Another video of the woman shows her narrating the incident to the officials as her colleagues comfort her. In the video, another member of the staff is seen speaking with someone on call seeking intervention as the situation escalates and reportedly says "no work will get done otherwise."

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The grassroots workers, who play an important role in the vaccination drive and healthcare, have demanded action against the staff member who attacked the woman. In the healthcare system in rural areas, ANMs play a crucial role in providing medical assistance to remote corners. Their work becomes more crucial as the government is trying to extend the vaccination drive to all as India goes through a third wave situation with rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

Yesterday, Bihar reported 2,379 COVID-19 cases and two deaths in just 24 hours span. The government has also begun vaccination for children between the age of 15 to 18 years from January 3 this year. Similarly, a booster dose vaccine campaign is also to begin for the elderly people with comorbidities and frontline healthcare workers.

According to the Union health ministry data, India reported 1,17,100 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday. There is 28 percent rise in number of coronavirus cases recorded than the previous day. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 too has climbed to 4, 83, 178 with the addition of 302 more deaths from January 6. As per the Wednesday data put out by the government on the Omicron variant, 3,007 cases have been detected across 23 states and union territories so far. Out of 3,007 cases, 1,199 have recovered.