In rural India, fear of testing and vaccines hampers Covid-19 fight

In this picture taken on June 1, 2021, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker (R) speaks to a family during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine awareness campaign in Kalwa village on the outskirts of Jind. With India's devastating recent virus surge easing in cities, the deadly pandemic is ravaging the vast poverty-stricken rural hinterland. But here, ignorance and fear rule. -mAFP

KALWA (India), June 5 (AFP): When health worker Neelam Kumari knocks on doors in Indian villages the occupants sometimes run out the back, terrified that she wants to vaccinate them against Covid-19.

With India's devastating recent virus surge easing in cities, the deadly pandemic is ravaging the vast poverty-stricken rural hinterland. But here, ignorance and fear rule.