66 Time February 28/March 7, 2022
Feb. 14, while 75.9% have had a first dose.
How did a remote Himalayan region manage to
succeed where so many other places have strug-
gled? The answer underscores the value of health
workers who are embedded in their communities
and know how best to serve them in a crisis.
At first glAnce, Dhari seems an unlikely place
to hit such a vaccine- success milestone. For one
thing, the Indian government made a smartphone
app the primary means for booking a vaccination
appointment—in a country where only around half
the population has a smartphone. In rural areas like
Dhari, that proportion is far lower.
Another challenge was simple practicality.
“Much of the population here lives in remote areas,
and it takes them so long to come to the medical
center,” Kandpal told TIME in August, sittingWORLD
△
Clockwise from top
left: Renu Sharma
at a school during a
vaccination drive;
tokens for people
registering for
vaccines; Sharma
preparing an
injection; Hema Devi
at her farm in Thiroli