General vaccine trends in India 2

1. Common Misinformation:

• A WhatsApp message questioning the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines is being widely shared in India. This WhatsApp message claims that the Covid-19 vaccine does not prevent or eliminate the virus and does not guarantee you complete protection or eliminate the use of masks, lockdowns, or travel bans. The same message is repeatedly and rampantly being shared on WhatsApp

• With the reports of at least 4 people who were a part of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine trials in the US, developing Bell's Palsy (temporary facial paralysis) have raised concerns about the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccines were developed and are available for use

• Bell's Palsy is a temporary facial paralysis caused by swelling of facial nerves that controls the muscles on one side of the face

• The recent case of four people developing Bell's Palsy who were a part of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine trials in the US, however, has led to many people who are opposing vaccines in India to raise questions about the approval of the vaccine in the country

• According to an infectious disease expert, If India decides to approve this vaccine, health workers and the elderly should opt for the vaccine. The efficacy results and the data show that the vaccine is doing what it intends to do. Currently, a vaccine is important, and when you compare, the efficacy and safety data is significantly better than the side-effects

• A 2018 newspaper clipping about 40 students being hospitalized after they were administered the measles-rubella vaccine in Kanpur has resurfaced and is being falsely linked to the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination rollout

• A video showing two Karnataka government health officials pretending to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots for the purpose of a photo-op is viral with misleading claims that they faked getting inoculated. There are further false claims that they are affiliated to the current ruling party. The term #Fakecination is again doing rounds on social media

2. On ground Surveys on Vaccine Hesitancy:

• A report by King’s College London and Ipsos MORI showed that one in three people have been exposed to anti-vax messages about the COVID-19 vaccine