Evaluation of Vaccine Hesitancy and the Influence of Side Effects on Vaccination Drive amidst Covid-19 Pandemic in India

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most severe public health challenge the world has encountered. Although necessary precautions laid by the government are being followed to control the spread of the disease, vaccination is the only long-term answer to such a global issue. The COVID-19 vaccines have been rapidly developed and approved for emergency use. However, many people were hesitant to vaccinate against COVID-19 which reduced the success rate of vaccination programs. Through this research, we aim to study the reasons contributing to vaccine hesitancy and their probability of occurrence amongst the Indian population. A survey focusing on vaccine hesitancy and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine was conducted and the data obtained were analyzed to understand the reasons behind vaccine hesitancy and the impact of side effects on the vaccination drive. The hesitation of people towards getting vaccinated revolves around a variety of aspects including, brand name, lack of confidence in vaccines and vaccination drive, conspiracy theories, educational and socio-economic status, underlying health issues, etc. Of notice, concern about side effects, and possible long-term side effects were the most important determinants. The severity of the short-term effects was found to be very low, implying that vaccination is completely safe and that people should get vaccinated against this virus as soon as possible and should not worry about side effects that are milder and shortlived. However, the real scenario of long-term side effects cannot be determined for now.