Behind HCWs choosing to skip the jab — a trust deficit, tech glitches
NEW DELHI: While the Delhi government had started with a lofty target of vaccinating over 8,100 healthcare workers on Saturday, only 53 per cent of those registered turned up at the centres for their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, a senior health official said. How-ever, the official added that the fear of the unknown domi-nated people's minds even as doctors who skipped the shot said they were apprehensive of the vaccines' efficacy.
At Delhi State Cancer Insti-tute in Dilshad Garden area, a senior Operation Theatre (OT) Technologist Abud Ansari did not want to get vaccinated on the first day even though his name was registered. "I will take the vaccine after two-three months once there is enough data on its efficiency. Right now I do not know what its side effects are or if it's good or not," he said. Ansari has been an OT technologist for 15 years.A senior doctor at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital said that LNJP had only 32 percent of the regis-tered healthcare workers turn up for their vaccine shot. "Several reasons — mainly, people were scared and also since the names are selected at random they received confir-mation messages last minute which could be another reason.
However, fear of the unknown is still the primary cause for a poor turn out," he said.Registered as number one on the list, for Rani Devi, fear was not the only reason that she could not get her vaccine shot. Devi, a housekeeping staff at LNJP received her con-firmation message at the last moment and due to family rea-sons could not make it to work. Dr Prateek Goel, General Secretary of the Resident Doc-tors' Association at Maulana Azad Medical College, said that MAMC had 100 percent of reg-istered vaccination done. "32 people had volun-tarily registered to get vacci-nated and all of them turned up." He added that most people stayed away from the common fear among health care work-ers –– for fear of its efficiency and since it is an Indian vac-cine, a shadow of doubts on its credibility. Like Ansari, several doctors and paramedic staff at MAMC are waiting to see its long term impact and will then get vaccinated.
"There is a little bit of appre-hension (about the vaccine). Also, people in India adopt a 'wait and watch' approach in important matters, be it pur-chasing a new car or an appli-ance. People consider the experiences of others before taking a call," B L Sherwal, Medical Director of Rajiv Gan-dhi Super Specialty Hospital, said. In Sherwal's hospital, 45 people got the jabs on Saturday.In addition to this "wait and watch" approach of many, a lack of communication and glitches in the Co-WIN app were some of the other rea-sons that affected the turnout on Saturday.
Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said technical glitches in the Co-WIN app could be a rea-son why many people could not take the shots on the launch day.Co-WIN is an online plat-form for monitoring COVID-19 vaccine delivery.Only 32 people were given the jabs at LNJP hospital on Saturday. Many other doctors pointed out that the govern-ment would need to up the ante on its communication regard-ing the vaccine and its efficacy.
WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES
