Strengthening Vaccine Trust- Consolidating Vaccine Confidence

Table of Contents

Strengthening Vaccine Trust- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Strengthening Vaccine Trust- Context

In India, about 78% of the adult population has received one dose and more than 36% has received both doses.
This shows that India has found its footing in its campaign to vaccinate citizens against COVID-19.
Vaccine Acceptance: Recent evidence also indicates that acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in India is among the highest in the world.

Strengthening Vaccine Trust- Associated Concerns

Misinformation about vaccines: can erode vaccine confidence among people.
- For example, in 2017-2019, false rumours about the measles-rubella vaccine spread through social media and led to a spike in vaccine refusals in some areas.
Low enthusiasm for vaccination: enthusiasm to get vaccinated could wane, especially when covid-19 cases are very low.
Other causes for vaccine hesitancy: People can avoid vaccination due to the following reasons-
- If they are against all vaccines.
- Misinformation and concerns about Vaccine efficacy, especially when vaccines have been developed over a short period of time.
- Mis-information from a trusted family member or friend about the ingredients of the vaccine.

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Strengthening Vaccine Trust- Way Forward

Ensure vaccination of all: even small pockets of unvaccinated individuals can threaten the success of an immunisation campaign.
- This is especially true for a highly transmissible virus like the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Consolidating Vaccine Confidence: Conversations around vaccination should stem from a place of respect, empathy and understanding and should avoid disparaging language.
- This helps build trust — the key to vaccine confidence.
Countering Mis-information: Providing data from a trusted source, like government agencies or academic institutions, can help correct misperceptions about vaccines.
- In addition, when speaking with peers about misinformation, it helps to acknowledge that it is sometimes difficult in the current context to know what is true and what is not.
Framing vaccination as the default normative behaviour: this can help encourage those who have doubt.
- we should ask our friends and family, “Teeka lagwaya, na?” or “You’ve been vaccinated, right?”
Importance of messenger: People often listen to someone who is respected and shares a similar background, community and area. For example,
- A sarpanch or a highly respected individual got vaccinated and encouraged others to do so as well.
- Doctors and health workers are also often trusted sources of information about health decisions.
- Actors and sportspersons are also powerful spokespersons.
Learning from Polio Campaign: In 2014, India was declared polio-free. It used the simple campaign, ‘Do boond zindagi ki‘ or ‘Two drops of life’. It was hopeful and appealed to Indians.
- The ongoing campaign to vaccinate India requires similar energy.
Following a Multi-disciplinary Approach: creatives and public health experts must work closely together to bolster vaccine confidence.
- Bollywood is uniquely positioned to tap into the Indian psyche through effective storytelling.
- This is important because not everyone connects in the same way with facts and figures.