Build confidence in Covid vaccines, govt tells districts
NEW DELHI: As Delhi prepares to deliver the first jabs to its health care workers, officials of Delhi’s districts have been directed to build confidence regarding Covid-19 vaccines.
The officials, according to orders of the administration, are required to address safety concerns of citizens through awareness drives, ongoing door-todoor health surveys and speak over phone with people registered for the vaccination.
“We have to engage with people at many levels as part of the confidence building drive with regard to the Covid-19 vaccines. The objective is to assure them about their safety concerns in a scientific manner, put a rest to all unscientific fears and build confidence among large sections of people,” said Delhi chief secretary, Vijay Dev.
On Wednesday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had appealed to the people to stay alert against “misinformation” on the vaccine and focus on scientific expertise behind its making.
Earlier this month, the health department of the government had already deployed accredited social health activists and anganwadi workers in a confidencebuilding drive, focusing on lowincome group localities to address issues related to vaccine hesitancy”.
This week, the revenue districts have been directed to systematically launch awareness programmes focused on confidence-building and addressing vaccine hesitancy. “They have also been asked to develop a system under which people registered for vaccination in their districts would get phone calls, reminding them of date, time, venue. The caller would also try to address hesitancies, if any, and help in confidence building. Right now, the government already has a system in place to help give reminders for the second dose of the vaccine. That too can be used,” said a second senior government official, who did not wish to be identified.
Vaccines will be administered to an estimated 300,000 health care workers in Delhi. This will be followed by around 600,000 front line workers. Registration for front line workers — which includes police, sanitation workers, teachers, and officials from departments directly engaged in Covid-19 management — is currently in progress. Next in line will be around 4.2 million people aged over 50 and individuals with co-morbidities, whose numbers are yet to be ascertained.
Experts have called for greater dialogue to increase vaccine acceptance.
“Everything is ready. Now, we have to ensure that the beneficiaries actually take the vaccine,” said Dr Suneela Garg, professor of community medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College.
“The health care workers are the ones to be immunised first and they understand the science; that is the reason many of them have doubts and questions. The drug regulator has approved the vaccines, they are safe. People should take it because it is better than getting the disease, which can also have long-lasting sequelae (conditions following the disease, such as lung fibrosis in Covid-19),” said Garg.
Promila Pargayi, a nurse at GTB hospital vaccination, said, “I do want to get the vaccine but I will wait for a few days to see what kind of adverse reactions people are getting. After all, most of us have been working in Covid-19 wards and have already had the infection. It protects us for some time at least.”
Rekha Sharma, another health care worker in Delhi, too said that she would rather wait and watch for some time. “I have diabetes and hypertension, so I am at a high risk . That is the reason I want to take the vaccine, but I want to wait a couple of days before getting it,” she said.