Hype about vaccine side effects made beneficiaries anxious: Dr Randeep Guleria

Thousands of beneficiaries did not show up to get inoculated due to concerns over side effects from vaccines

An ‘infodemic’ about vaccination and influx of social media posts about adverse effects from the vaccines are the reasons behind the tepid response from the healthcare and frontline workers to India’s inoculation campaign against Covid-19, Dr Randeep Guleria told Hindustan Times in an interview.

“Early on, health care workers were very keen to get the vaccine. Then, because of the infodemic, because of the things doing the rounds on social media, because of the side effects being highlighted as more than what they were, it created a lot of anxiety—not only among healthcare workers but also public at large,” Guleria told the publication.

Three days after the vaccination campaign started, India has vaccinated over 3.8 lakh so far with 580 adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) reported so far. Thousands of health workers scheduled to be inoculated were no-shows due to hesitancy. In New Delhi, only 53 per cent showed up on Monday to get the shots, according to a health official.

Read | Thousands skip vaccination in India due to hesitancy

Guleria said that just because the vaccine has come within a year, it does not mean “there has been a compromise on safety” and convincing people of the same is a herculean task before the government.

Addressing concerns on the approval given to Bharat Biotech without completing trials, Guleria said that India needs as many vaccines manufacturers and vaccines as it can get “because the number of people we need to vaccinate in humongous.”

“We can keep arguing about which one is good but at the end of the day, any vaccine that is safe and provides efficacy will help in saving lives and bringing down mortality,” Guleria is quoted as saying in the report.

Guleria hinted that at the end of the year, it is possible that more vaccines will come up, those that need only one shot or those in the form of a nasal spray. But it will take time. “Therefore, currently we should push what we have because it will really help in saving lives,” he said.

The AIIMS director said that looking back at the last year, he is satisfied that the pandemic was managed without going into a chaotic situation like other countries that are running out of beds and oxygen.