It claimed that the MR vaccine was actually a ploy to sterilize the Muslims in the state as part of a BJP-RSS design. Dr Anees Begum, a doctor herself, had to take her children, aged 10 and eight, to her primary health centre in Keirao Makting in Imphal East and get them vaccinated in front of the people. The situation was particularly tense in minority-populated areas.

In schools, parents would drag out their children out if they knew that MR vaccination camps were being held in the school premises. The doctored clip came from a news channel’s video clip which was meant to expose such rumours. It was neatly edited and reduced to a short clip, twisted and circulated by vested interest groups who are yet to be identified.

The fake alerts spread like wildfire through various forms of communication: text messages on mobile phones, video clips, etc. Rumours started doing the rounds that there were separate vials for the Hindus and the Muslims. The video clip started circulating six months before the Union Health Ministry’s communication materials reached Manipur. It was enough to damage the campaign for children’s health in the state. The clip had already done its rounds in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa before it reached Manipur.

According to state immunisation officer Dr Th Nandkishwor, there were no issues with routine vaccination but people refused MR vaccination. “We did not face such difficulties even during the polio vaccination campaign.” And it was not just the clip. When a child died four weeks after the vaccination, false propaganda linking it to MR vaccine hit the streets. If the MR vaccine sets off an allergic reaction, it takes place within half-an-hour. But a large section of the community had already made up their mind against the vaccine. What the doctors said did not matter any more. An enquiry into the case proved the death was unrelated to the vaccine but the damage had already been done.

“It slowed down the entire process,” deputy commissioner of Thoubal district Haobam Rosita said. To mitigate the problem, “we reached out to religious leaders, community leaders, various other organisations, individuals, panchayats to convince people in pockets of refusal and it definitely helped in the process,” Rosita added. To counter the misinformation campaign, Dr Nandkishwor said, the state pressed all communication channels into action—radio, television, social media, text messages, posters, announcement from vehicles, et al.