Despite affordable Covid-19 vaccine likely by Feb 2021, 59% say they won’t rush to take it

The online survey was conducted between November 23 and 30 by LocalCircles, a social media platform that has been gathering citizens’ inputs on various issues pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pune DRM felicitates doctors at Railway Hospital

Picture used for representational purpose

While chances of an affordable Covid-19 vaccine being available by February next year may seem high, 59 per cent of over 8,900 respondents to a survey question said they won’t rush to take it, according to the survey findings released on Tuesday.

The online survey was conducted between November 23 and 30 by LocalCircles, a social media platform that has been gathering citizens’ inputs on various issues pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The online survey received more than 25,000 responses from across 262 districts of India, of which 69 per cent respondents were men and 31 per cent were women. The survey responses were also compared to responses to a similar survey conducted in October.

The first question in the survey was, “The Covid-19 vaccine is likely to be available from February 2021 via private and government channels. If that happens, what will be your approach towards taking this vaccine?”.

Sachin Taparia, founder of LocalCircles, said the platform received responses from 8,936 people, of which 8 per cent said “I am a health or frontline worker and will get it on priority through the government”, 13 per cent said, “I will get it as soon as it becomes available via any healthcare channel”, and 11 per cent said “I will get it as soon as it becomes available via a private healthcare channel”.

But as many as 59 per cent of respondents said that they won’t rush to take the Covid-19 vaccine even if it is available in the near future, said Taparia. “The perception of a majority of citizens being sceptical on taking Covid-19 vaccine hasn’t changed much as compared to the result of the survey conducted in mid-October by LocalCircles. At that time, 61 per cent of 8,312 voters had said they are sceptical about the Covid-19 vaccine and won’t rush to take it in 2021 even if it is available,” said Taparia.

“We will share the findings of this report with relevant government stakeholders so the public concerns and feedback finds place in the strategy and implementation of Covid-19 vaccine roll-out,” said Taparia.

‘Need for peer review by scientists, experts’

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A peer review by scientists and experts is a must before we categorically accept any claim from any manufacturer about vaccine efficacy results, said Dr Subhash Salunkhe, technical advisor on Covid-19 to the Maharashtra government. “The acceptance of the vaccine by doctors and healthcare workers also needs to be evidence-based and information needs to be provided to this key high-risk group… there are a large number of issues that remain unanswered,” said Dr Salunkhe. He also said the hype being created, that the pandemic will be over once the vaccine is available, is not based on facts.

“Data should look at the duration of the viral shedding and the amount of virus in nasopharyngeal swabs or nasal swabs over time . Questions like will it work on younger people, on those who are immunocompromised, and how long the protection lasts, need to be answered,” said Dr Salunkhe.

“To carry out this entire programme is very challenging,. The health system is inadequate and while we are addressing firefighting issues while dealing with the pandemic, we need to develop long-term capacity in the public health sector,” he said.

Dr Shashank Joshi, dean of the Indian College of Physicians, said there was need for better safety data. Recent sero-surveys in Pune and Mumbai have shown that high exposure and high sero antibody prevalence may have led to some sort of immunity in some pockets. “The unanswered questions are do the antibodies last and for how long? Also, do positive antibodies translate into protection… for all this, we need long-term data,” said Dr Joshi.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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