India’s covid-19 vaccinations get off to bumpy start
Live MintIndia’s Covid-19 vaccinations have run into early problems as fewer people than anticipated have been showing up for their shots, putting the country far behind the pace it needs to hit its target of inoculating 300 million by August. “Ignorance is the breeding ground for hesitancy,” and many people aren’t confident about the two vaccines, which have been rushed to market, said T. Jacob John, a retired professor of virology at the Christian Medical College in the southern city of Vellore. “The epidemic is at its lowest level now when the vaccine has been rolled out, so people are asking, ‘What’s the hurry?’ ” India has been one of the places hardest hit by the pandemic, with more than 10 million confirmed infected and 150,000 deaths, but its infection rate has plunged from a high near 100,000 a day in September to less than 20,000 a day in recent weeks. “What is the use of getting vaccinated at this point?” Sunil Arora, a doctor and general secretary of New Delhi’s Federation of Resident Doctors Association, said health-care professionals need to set an example but that many of them are worried about the fast approval of the vaccines. “Manufacturers and governments need to stand behind the vaccines they are providing to the people and assure people that these vaccines are safe,” said Deepak Baid, a physician in charge of a Covid-19 unit in a government hospital in Mumbai.