Chennai: Higher literacy rates, increased coverage of medical services and better higher socio-economic condition when compared to other States.
But still, more than six months after Covid-19 vaccination was rolled out in Tamilnadu, misconceptions about vaccines still prevail, and vaccine hesitancy is high among senior citizens, according to a study done by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
Vaccine hesitancy was prevalent among 27.6 per cent of people aged above 60 years while the same was present in 16.9 per cent between the age group of 18 and 44 years, they study says.
As many as 18.2 per cent of people between the age group of 45 and 59 years were also hesitant to receive the jabs, the survey said.
Among the unvaccinated persons, 80.3 per cent men and 81.6 per cent women were ready to get vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy was observed in 19.7 per cent men and 18.4 per cent women. As for the place of residence, 82.5 per cent of those residing in urban areas and 79.7 per cent in rural areas were willing to be vaccinated.
Some of the reasons for the vaccine hesitancy was fear of injections (48.4%), fear of complications after receiving the jabs (57.6%), long queue to get the jabs (22.5%), no person to accompany (21%).
The biggest challenge for Tamilnadu government in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is the hesitancy of the people in rural areas and the poor in urban centres to get vaccinated, said State Health Minister M Subramanian in a recent interview.
“We create awareness among people to get themselves vaccinated. We tell them that if adults get vaccinated, it would encourage children to get inoculated when their turn comes. Another major challenge is delay by people in seeking medical care in Tamilnadu,” he added.