Vaccine workers in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir have battled bone-chilling temperatures, inhospitable terrain, and vaccine-hesitancy to bring Kashmir’s vaccination tally to two crore. The region had hit the one crore vaccinations mark back in September 2021. Announcing the new milestone, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha heaped praise on frontline healthcare workers who braved the winter to vaccinate people in hard-to-reach villages cut-off by heavy snowfall. According to the government, Kashmir hit the 100% vaccination mark for eligible adults on January 12, while 57% of adolescents in the age group of 15 to 18 years have been vaccinated with the first dose thus far.

Fozia, foreground and Tasleema, Kashmiri healthcare workers, carry vaccines as they walk on a snow covered road after administering dose to an elderly woman during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022.
Fozia, right and Tasleema, Kashmiri healthcare workers, carry vaccines as they walk on a snow covered road during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 11, 2022. 
Kashmiri village girl Tanveera Banoo, reacts as she receives a vaccine for COVID-19 from Masrat Farid, a healthcare worker, as her neighbors watch from distance during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
Masrat Farid, a healthcare worker, administers a dose of Covishield vaccine to Ghulam Yousaf Mir during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.
Masrat Farid, a healthcare worker, carries vaccines as she walks on a snow covered field after administering doses to young girls during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Jan. 12, 2022.