India Coronavirus Dispatch: How do we deal with vaccine hesitancy?

Centre's Covid vaccine guidelines to states, downsides of remote working, how state govts' vaccine rollout plans are shaping up-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

A Covid-19 vaccine will be available in India anytime now. But will people take it?

In an online survey carried out by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, which received over 25,000 responses from 262 districts, nearly 60% said they would not rush to take a vaccine even if it was available by February.

Considering the pandemic has completely upended people’s lives for almost a year – and vaccines are being projected as the only possible way to halt the virus’s charge – the results of the survey would perhaps appear to be somewhat counter-intuitive, notwithstanding the usual caveats of online surveys.

But experts warn against drawing simplistic connections. Vaccine hesitancy – loosely defined as the phenomenon of people refusing to get inoculated despite the presence of a safe and effective vaccine – is complex and driven by several factors. Read more here

5-member teams, mobile sites, avoid ‘mixing’ — Centre’s Covid vaccine guidelines to states

Five-member vaccination teams, internet-enabled and mobile sites, and elaborate arrangements to monitor adverse events after vaccination will be the bulwark of India’s Covid-19 vaccination programme.

According to guidelines issued by the central government last week, states have been asked to ensure that one district gets vaccines from only one manufacturer, to avoid “mixing”. Read more here

Opinion: Remote working is starting to show tears. But going back to office isn’t only solution

Over eight months ago, with haste and necessity, workers and organizations across the globe were thrown into “the great remote work experiment.”

What was arguably an adequate short-term solution is now showing signs of wear and tear: Remote workers are burning out, organizational cultures are under threat, and leaders are fretting about the loss of creativity and collaboration. Read more here

How Delhi will vaccinate its people

As the country prepares a roadmap to roll out the Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months, the Delhi government has also initiated the process for carrying out the ambitious immunisation programme. The Delhi government, in coordination with the Centre, has identified 609 cold chain points in the national capital which will be used for immunisation of healthcare workers, who will be the first to get the vaccine when it arrives. Read more here

Daily infection count remains below 40,000 for 14th day

India registered 30,254 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the country’s tally to 98,57,029, the health ministry data showed. India has reported less than 40,000 cases for 14 consecutive days. The toll rose by 391 to 1,43,019.

There are 356,546 active cases and 93,57,464 in the country. The recovery rate has risen to 94.93 per cent, while the fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent. Read more here

How state govts are preparing to administer Covid-19 vaccine doses

Amid a downward trend in the active cases and surge in the number of people recovering from the disease, states and union territories (UTs) are gearing up to inoculate the people once a vaccine is approved by the central government. With first priority given to healthcare, frontline workers and those highly vulnerable to the infection, states and UTs are also ensuring that vaccines to the remaining population can be given at the earliest. Here are the updates on how states are preparing for vaccinating their residents.