As the year 2020 that began with the Coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, the COVID-19 vaccines are finally here following several breakthroughs. India begins its two-day dry run for COVID-19 vaccine programme on Monday in four states—Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab.
The programme includes immunisation and checks on cold storage and transportation arrangements, logistic mobilization and management of possible adverse events to the immunisation on people.
"The vaccines are new and are likely to be only partially effective for a yet unknown period of time. There may be so-called adverse events rightly or incorrectly attributed to the new vaccines, and countries will set different safety thresholds before offering the vaccines to their populations," a WHO report stated.
The recorded observations of the dry runs in the four states will be submitted to the Union Health Ministry. In all the four states, five sessions will be held at identified locations with 25 test pre-identified beneficiaries - healthcare workers - for each session, according to reports.
In Assam, the dry run will be carried out in Sonitpur and Nalbari districts and in Andhra Pradesh, the dry run will take place in Krishna district, official sources said.
As many as 7000 healthcare workers have been trained during the 2,360 training sessions for the vaccination programme held so far, the sources said.
Coronavirus vaccine priority – who will get the vaccination first?
The Central government plans to cover 30 crore people in the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination programme. India has reported over 1.01 crore COVID-19 confirmed cases so far.
Given the limited supply in the short to medium term, vaccines are likely to be prioritized for health workers at high risk of acquiring or transmitting infection and older adults, the WHO stated.
Eventually, vaccination efforts will expand to target diverse populations not typically reached with immunization programmes, both across and within countries. But research has shown that it is not enough to provide information on vaccines to encourage their uptake, the WHO stated.
Major hurdle or challenge facing COVID-19 vaccine programme - Acceptance
Meanwhile, there’s uncertainty over the acceptance of the Coronavirus vaccine among the people worldwide.
“Even after we have overcome the imminent challenges of sufficient supply, efficient rollout and equitable access, a range of well-designed programme strategies will be needed to drive acceptance and uptake,” the WHO stated.
The WHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health has published a report outlining the factors that drive people’s behaviour when it comes to vaccines: an enabling environment, social influences, and motivation. It recommends addressing those drivers to encourage communities to accept and take up vaccination.
According to the WHO: First, we must make it easy, quick and affordable to get vaccinated, especially for the large proportion of people who are not deliberately avoiding vaccination. What might seem to be reluctance, resistance or even opposition, might actually be a response to the burdens or inconvenience of getting vaccinated, the WHO said.
Immunization rollout plans need to consider factors such as the convenience of location and time, associated costs, and the quality of the experience of being vaccinated. For instance, if the default in schools is to vaccinate all students, with the provision of allowing those who object to opt out, then vaccination rates will likely be higher than if the default is to provide vaccination only to those who opt in.
Making vaccines easily accessible in safe, familiar and convenient locations, such as “drop-in” clinics that are near where people often go, can also encourage uptake. This should be accompanied by targeted, credible and clear communication from trusted sources demonstrating that getting vaccinated is important, beneficial, easy, quick and affordable.
Health systems must be prepared to reduce barriers to supply, service delivery and quality of services, in addition to ensuring that health care and community workers are well trained and well supported.
Second, we need to harness social influences, including from trusted community figures. By making vaccine uptake “visible” to others, through clinics in prominent public places or by enabling ways for people to signal that they have received the vaccine – on social media, in news media or in person – we can contribute to making the social norm more salient.
Showing that health professionals are being vaccinated can lead to greater acceptance and uptake by the general population. Amplifying endorsements from trusted community members can also help.
Third, we need to increase individual motivation through open and transparent dialogue and communication about the uncertainty and risks, but also the safety and benefits of vaccination.
Some may be hesitant toward vaccination due to beliefs that they have a low risk of infection, others may have concerns about the safety of vaccines, while others may be hesitant because of religious values or lack of trust in the health system.
This pandemic has been accompanied by an overabundance of information and misinformation, an ‘infodemic’ on a global scale. People are inevitably exposed to misinformation, rumours and false conspiracy theories, which may erode their confidence in vaccination.
Developing trusted sources, fact-checking and responding to misinformation through dedicated dashboards are some of the strategies suggested to manage infodemics.
What, after vaccination?
Vaccine acceptance and uptake may also be undermined by COVID-19 vaccines being not fully effective, meaning that people will have to continue to engage in preventive behaviour (e.g. mask-wearing and physical distancing) even if and after they have been vaccinated.
It will be important to manage expectations and ensure that those who have been vaccinated do not stop adhering to protective behaviours and expose themselves and others to risk. It is important to build trust in COVID-19 vaccines before people form an opinion against them.
This should involve using trusted messengers to help navigate the COVID-19 information landscape and building confidence in the vaccine development process through transparency and managing expectations.
Communicating consistently, transparently, empathetically and proactively about uncertainty, risks and vaccine availability will contribute to building trust.
