The one topic around the world that is being widely discussed for quite some time is, of course, the Corona Virus pandemic. It has been a long period before people went out of their homes in public places such as parks, theatres, hospitals etc. without wearing a mask or taking precautions such as using sanitizers frequently. It is evident that people around the world look forward to spending their life freely of all these worries.
With Christmas approaching, people especially in the West are facing fresh restrictions and lockdowns as Corona Virus cases have risen sharply.
The world had to wait several months before medical science was successful in developing a vaccine to counter the effects of the pandemic. It is hoped that the vaccine developed jointly by Pfizer and Bio-N Tech will be able to check the number of Corona cases in the world, if not wholly eliminate the pandemic.
In the case of India, a recent survey has shown that more than 50 per cent of the population is expressing caution towards taking the vaccine, be it because of ignorance about the vaccine or because of side-effects which the vaccine may cause.
The survey covered approximately 11,000 individuals. It consisted of many questions such as the feasibility of taking a vaccine, the measures the government took to curb the spread of the disease (such as lock-down) and the future course of action on the part of both the government and the citizens.
It is interesting to note that 43 per cent of the respondents are not sure about the effectiveness of the vaccine and will only form an opinion after the initial results come out. On the other hand, 47 per cent of the respondents are willing to take the vaccine to keep themselves away from the disease. The remaining 10 per cent are, as of now, firmly against taking the vaccine.
The survey also finds that with age, the willingness to take the vaccine decreases as people in the age group of 45-60 and 60 above were found to be less willing vis-à-vis the younger age groups. This shows that either the new generation is more concerned about keeping themselves safe or that the older adults are afraid about the complications which may develop post vaccination.
Several scepticism exists even in the developed countries of the world such as the US, UK, France and other European countries where a substantial percentage of even the health care workers are not prepared to take the vaccine in the first round. To instill confidence among the people, US Vice President Mike Pence took the vaccine on camera on Friday. President-elect Joe Biden is also going to take it publicly.
Anyway, one thing is clear. It seems that it will still take some time before the world fully comes out of the pandemic which originated from Wuhan in November 2019.
