Short Communiction
Year: 2020 | Month: September | Volume: 7 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 313-316
Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccination: Challenges and Dilemma
Vidya Jha1, Dinesh TA2, Prem Nair3
1Asst Professor and Asst Medical Administrator,
2Professor and HOD, 3Professor, Department of Hospital Administration,
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, Cochin, Kerala, India
Corresponding Author: Vidya Jha
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt global health system and economy. The whole mankind is eagerly anticipating coronavirus vaccine which is being developed at an accelerated rate. But for herd immunity to develop at least 60% of people should be immune. This means about 5.6 billion people globally and 0.82 billion Indians would need to be immune in order to end the COVID-19 pandemic. With these huge numbers, it may not be practically possible to achieve vaccination coverage over a short span of time. We need to find answers for the hard-hitting questions like do we need to prioritize our people? When will the vaccine be available for all? Will mandating COVID-19 vaccine be feasible in India? People’s willingness to vaccination will also be affected by what is said about the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months. Scientists and government health officials will have to take measures to provide evidence-based information that is convincing and persuasive. Therefore, even if the vaccine is safe and ready for use, we need to develop and design a policy strategy to ensure sufficient uptake of vaccine.
Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus vaccine, Prioritize, Strategy, Vaccination coverage
[PDF Full Text]