Fear of vax effect keeps off daily wage earners

Some fear fever and other consequences of vaccination

The ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive for people from high-risk groups, the so-called ‘superspreaders’ identified by the state government, is facing some resistance from many of the intended beneficiaries, particularly whose lives depend on their daily earnings, according to some Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials.

Also, with several complaints of vaccination eligibility tokens by the GHMC staff coming to light, where ineligible people managed to acquire tokens and turned up on the first two days of the drive, the GHMC started a pilot programme to evaluate online registration of beneficiaries with its staff going to shops, vendors etc and using an app on their phones to upload pictures and details of the intended beneficiaries.

Though the GHMC has targeted vaccinating 1,000 people a day at each of its 32 special vaccination centres, Sunday, the third day of the drive, saw only 22,603 turning up to get their shots. Last Friday, which was the first day of the drive, saw 21,666 getting the shots, while the second day on Saturday saw 22,399 turning up to get vaccinated.

“We are seeing some reluctance from people who are daily wagers or those who are dependent on daily earnings, because they are worried about the sideeffects of the vaccination,” GHMC deputy commissioner B. Srinivas, said at the vaccination centre for Goshamahal Circle.

Another GHMC official said this phenomenon was being seen across the city as people were worried that they would develop fever or other symptoms which prevented them from trying to make a living during the relaxation hours.

“We are seeing this among street vendors, and even other categories of people working in shops and the like who are worried about losing their day’s wages or earnings. But as the days go by, we hope we will see more people turning up to get their shots,” the official said.

With respect to identification of beneficiaries and putting their details online, a GHMC official said this was tried out for Sunday in the Serilingampally and Goshamahal circles.

“Our staff are approaching the beneficiaries, taking their pictures with their phones and collecting other details. Following this, a message is sent to the beneficiary’s phone and upon displaying this at a vaccination centre, he or she can get the shot,” the official said.

Meanwhile, TSRTC on Sunday launched its threeday special drive to vaccinate all its 47,000 employees.