As the days for the release of COVID-19 vaccine draw near, a recent survey has revealed that over 50 per cent of Indians are unsure about taking the vaccine shot.

The GOQii COVID-19 – The Way Forward survey, which was conducted with approximately 11,000 respondents, revealed that 53 per cent of the population is unsure about taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

The survey was conducted to understand the openness to take the COVID-19 vaccine, the perception about the government measures to combat COVID-19, the possible future measures including a lockdown.

The survey results further added that 43 per cent of the population is not sure and will only make a solid opinion post initial results about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, 10 per cent of the population firmly opposes the idea of taking the vaccine as of now.
On a positive side, 47 per cent of the respondents said that they are willing to take the vaccine and are actually waiting for it.

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

Survey results further revealed that the willingness to take the vaccine reduces with age.

The Adults (45-60) and Seniors (60+) are not as ready as the younger age groups. This may be due to concerns about complications post taking it.

Founder and CEO of GOQii Vishal Gondal said, "The World Health Organisation 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 Indian government has taken several steps from implementing lockdown to announcing a relief package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore to the medical industry for rapid improvement in the testing capacity among many others," he added.

"There are different types of initiatives which the government, at the Central, state and local level, is working on. We at GOQii commend the efforts that various organisations have put in to help the world see through these difficult times," he further said.

"While the public opinion may vary, the important aspect to note is that preventive healthcare is the only way forward, as boosting immunity and staying healthy is the best and only viable option amidst a dreaded pandemic," he concluded.

The survey revealed that 50 per cent of the respondents feel that the Centre's initiatives have been effective in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

On the other hand, 25 per cent of the respondents believe that the state governments' initiatives have been effective.

Only 22 per cent of citizens recognise the efforts of the local governments in terms of effectiveness.

Also, 66 per cent of the population surveyed believes the opening up of lockdown 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.

Meanwhile, 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.

10 per cent of people who said that there should be no restrictions and things should go back to normal.