Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Vaccine hesitancy

In rural India, concerns about COVID-19 vaccines are now increasingly commonplace.

People voice their concern about what will happen to them if they get vaccinated and have doubts that the government is sending inferior quality vaccines to them.
Vaccination sessions in local health centers often see very few or no takers.
In contrast, urban vaccination sites face increased demand, especially in the 18-45 age group, and vaccine shortage is a major issue.
From a public health and equity perspective, this is a cause for worry.

The fear of vaccines and rural communities not only resisting but also outright rejecting vaccination is a reality.
Efforts by local health authorities to create awareness and convince people are of little avail.
There are contrasting dimensions to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout: one where people are enthusiastically accepting it and the other of resistance.
There are many diverse factors at play in this, which may go beyond the health concerns and have more to do with socio-anthropological aspects of health-seeking behavior.

Vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services.
It is complex and context-specific varying across time, place, and vaccines.
It is influenced by factors such as complacency, convenience, and confidence.

Vaccine hesitancy is not a recent phenomenon. It is neither limited to a particular community or country nor have we seen it only in the context of COVID-19.
We have also seen vaccine hesitancy among the urban and the more educated or ‘aware’ populations, with pockets of populations of socio-economically well-off communities refusing to get their kids vaccinated.
While vaccine hesitancy can lead to a firm rejection of vaccines, there’s also a possibility of people changing their perceptions over time.

Most of our fears and apprehensions stem from a deep impact of something adverse or unfavorable that we have personally experienced or our social circles have experienced.
Over time these become our beliefs, our innate guards.
In the context of the concerns described at the beginning of this article, we must look at vaccine hesitancy from a distinct lens of fear and not necessarily skepticism for new vaccines.
Rather, they seem to indicate deep-seated fears and belief in conspiracies, the fear of perhaps being discriminated and deceived, and of being omitted (from societal benefits).

Communities might not see the impact of a vaccine instantly, as it’s usually preventive in nature rather than curative.
People are used to taking medications or intravenous fluids when they are unwell or in pain, and they may feel better almost immediately, but that’s not the case with vaccines.
On the contrary, vaccines administered to a healthy person may lead to occasional side effects like fever, body aches, etc.
Add to those rumors about deaths post-vaccination, and it may not be so easy for people to get convinced about the vaccines.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy in rural India would first of all require health systems to be honest and transparent.
Create awareness, let people know how vaccines work, how they help prevent disease, what are the probable side effects and how they can be managed.
Health authorities need to be comfortable about people raising questions while providing the answers as best as possible.
Being cognizant of local cultural sensitivities and working with trusted intermediaries is important in this effort.
Sustained and meaningful efforts need to be made to build trust, gain the confidence of communities and meet their expectations.
Even more crucial is to engage communities in planning, execution, and monitoring of health care services at all levels.

Tackling vaccine hesitancy challenge in rural India

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