53% of people express concerns over taking the Covid-19 vaccine: GOQii survey

While India is gearing up for the vaccination drive, more than 50 per cent of India’s population is expressing caution towards taking the virus vaccine according to the GOQii Covid-19 – The Way Forward survey.

The survey has been conducted with around 11,000 respondents to know about the willingness to take the vaccine, the perception of the government measures to combat Covid-19, the possible future measures including a lockdown.

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The study revealed that 53 per cent of the population is unsure about taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

It also noted that 43 per cent of them are not sure and will only make a solid opinion post initial results about the effectiveness of the vaccine is revealed. While 10 per cent are firmly against taking the vaccine as of now.

On an optimistic note, 47 per cent of the respondents said that they are willing to take the vaccine and are waiting for its arrival.

Women are more cautious

The survey study noted that women are more cautious than men with 48 per cent of the male population willing to get vaccinated while the female readiness is around 42 per cent.

Notably, it showed that with age, the willingness to take the vaccine reduces. The elderly (45-60) and senior citizens (60+) are not as ready as the younger age groups. This may be due to concerns about complications post taking it.

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Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii, said in an official statement: “The World Health Organization is cautiously optimistic that safe and effective vaccines for Covid-19 will be successfully developed soon. There is a robust pipeline of potential vaccines in the development, and some have already advanced to the next stage.”

He added: “The government has taken several steps from implementing lockdown to announcing a relief package of ₹1.7-lakh crore to the medical industry to rapid improvement in the testing capacity among many others...We at GOQii commend the efforts that various organizations have put in to help the world see through these difficult times.”

According to the study, 50 per cent of the respondents feel that the initiatives taken by the Centre have been effective in curbing the spread of Covid-19. While 25 per cent of people surveyed believe that the state government initiatives have been effective. Only 22 per cent of citizens recognize the efforts of the Local Government in terms of effectiveness.

The survey further stated that 66 per cent of the population surveyed believes the current method or opening up slowly is the way forward. While 34 per cent feel that a complete lockdown should be introduced again. 25 per cent have a positive opinion about the current partial lockdown and think that it should continue in a similar manner.

About 31 per cent want things to return back to normal but only in a gradual way, wherein restriction will be loosened very cautiously and while monitoring the numbers. Ten per cent of people said that there should be no restrictions and things should go back to normal.