“I will die if I take the Covid-19 vaccine,” said 35-year-old Pooja, a resident of Pakara Bazargaon village in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, where the vaccination campaign is ongoing at a primary health care center.
Pooja and her husband believe the vaccine is harmful and have decided never to take it. But that’s not just their story. This is how most of the residents of the village react when asked to take the coronavirus vaccine.
Vaccination in rural areas is a major concern for state governments as many inland areas are still reluctant to take the vaccine due to certain misunderstandings. Pooja said she made the decision not to take the vaccine because her neighbors told her people were facing severe side effects and some would even die after being vaccinated.
Vaccination in rural areas is a major concern for state governments as many inland areas are still reluctant to take the vaccine due to certain misunderstandings. (Photo credit: Abhishek Mishra / India Today)
Aiming to get 11 lakh shots in the first week, UP began vaccinating residents in the 18-44 age group in all 75 counties on Tuesday. As of May 31, only 23 of the state’s 75 counties had vaccinated people ages 18 to 44. The government claims vaccine waste has dropped below 2%.
At PHCs, the vaccination rate is struggling to pick up pace as India Today found that inland people are still anxious to take the vaccine. At the PHC (Primary Health Care) center in the village of Pakara Bazargaon, most of the beneficiaries came from cities where they could not get a place.
At the PHC (Primary Health Care) center in the village of Pakara Bazargaon, most of the beneficiaries came from cities where they could not get a place. (Photo credit: Abhishek Mishra / India Today)
A couple, RK Pandey and Neerja Pandey, reached the PHC village in Pakara Bazargaon to have the vaccination and said they had driven 35 km from Lucknow to take the vaccine as there were no places available in the city’s centers be.
Speaking to India Today, medical officer Dr. Shalini Patel that most villagers are afraid to take the vaccine as they have their own views on it. She said most of them lost their family members during the second wave and now believe that after taking the vaccine, their lives could also be at risk. “The myths surrounding the vaccine are the main obstacle to slow development in PHCs,” she said.
The doctor Dr. Shalini Patel said most of the villagers lost their family members during the second wave and now believe that after taking the vaccine, their lives could also be at risk. (Photo credit: Abhishek Mishra / India Today)
Ayush Shukla, a 25-year-old resident of the village, said he was still undecided about taking the syringe after hearing that people develop a fever and some even die after being given the syringe.
Similarly, Hiralal, 40, and Bhupendra Singh, 30, are afraid to take the vaccine. Hiralal said that since he was not sick what was the need to do the syringe.
“Some people died after taking the vaccine, which made villagers fearful of the vaccine. Incorrect information about the vaccine, spread via WhatsApp and the Internet, is also a major reason for the reluctance to vaccinate among adolescents, ”said Bhupendra Singh.
Regarding the hesitation among the villagers, UP vaccination officer Dr. Ajay Ghai that local officials and Panchayat members are involved in raising awareness in rural areas. He said more steps are now being taken to raise awareness among villagers, to educate people about the benefits of vaccines.
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