Building trust in COVID-19 vaccination: Data suggests top 5 vaccine preference among Indians

Ever since the Coronavirus broke out last year, many have pinned their hopes on vaccine development. However, at a time when vaccines have come, many are skeptical about getting a shot as they do not trust the vaccinations completely or are concerned about side effects. In order to map this trust, a UK-based company in market research and data analytics YouGov has conducted a survey across countries and indicated some interesting insights. To be sure, the survey was conducted among 9 countries including India, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, Argentina, Algeria, Serbia and the UAE. These countries collectively account for more than 2 billion people, or in other words, more than 25 per cent of the global population.

According to the survey, it was found that 54 per cent of the total respondents are trusting Russia to produce vaccine- Sputnik V for inoculation against the novel Coronavirus. “Russia came out as the most trusted vaccine producing country, alongside the US and leaving the UK behind, when asked to choose the 3 countries they trusted the most to produce a vaccine,” read the survey.

Now, this means even in India as well, many people trust the Russian vaccine. The survey comes at a time when India itself has started a vaccination drive which includes inoculation of indegeneous vaccine- Covaxin. On this, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund said that the Russian vaccine development received a good response especially for Indians in the survey. The vaccine is also the most recognizable vaccine in India after Pfizer and AstraZeneca. “In addition, the fact that India is emerging as the most important manufacturing hub for Sputnik V further boosted the confidence of the people of the country in the Russian vaccine”, Dmitriev said.

Also Read: COVID-19: As situation worsens, Centre asks to vaccinate people above 45 years in two weeks

Meanwhile, all respondents in the survey have shown they would rather have a shot of Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine followed by Sputnik V, SinoVac, SinoPharm, AstraZeneca/Oxford University, and Moderna.

Also Read: Coronavirus situation turning from bad to worse, whole country at risk: Centre

In a report published by FE Online, Dr Gagandeep Kang, Indian medical scientist and professor at the Christian Medical College, Vellore has highlighted that the vaccines are the only defence available with people right now and the current vaccines are good enough to get the best protection. However, Keshav Desiraju, the former health secretary of India and health expert pointed out that there are still challenges surrounding the issue of vaccine hesitancy. There are also many issues pertaining to the vaccine dispensing infrastructure whether its staff preparedness, cold chains and or the need to inoculate in large numbers, like in the case of India.