Indians are hesitant about taking a vaccine for Covid-19, according to a recent survey.

LocalCircles conducted a survey to understand the reluctance or hesitancy in Indians regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. The survey received over 18,000 responses from citizens across 242 districts of India.

When asked about their willingness to take the vaccine, the survey received 9,458 responses from citizens. Based on the aggregate, 69 per cent of Indians will not rush to take the Covid-19 vaccine even if it becomes available in the near future.

The percentage of citizens hesitant to take the vaccine was 61 per cent in a similar survey conducted in October, while it was 59 per cent in November.

The declining caseload in India is also impacting people's interests in the vaccine, as per the report. According to the survey, 39 per cent believed that India's daily caseload is reducing “because of people's high immunity or because the virus has had its run and is now going away,” the report said.

“The vaccine hesitancy concerns among the professionals are likely to percolate down to the general public as many citizens would consult their doctors before taking the vaccine. Any hesitation in accepting the vaccine by healthcare professionals and in turn citizens will have a negative consequence on India's effort to control the spread of Covid-19,” it said.

“The key action needed here by both the pharmaceutical industry and the Central and State Governments is to keep citizens updated at every step about the vaccine trial results, including adverse events and successes Also as the vaccination begins, it is critical that central state and local information sharing channels be created so any adverse events and issues are identified quickly and shared by the authorities in a transparent manner,” it added.

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