Maharashtra needs to fight depression to tackle vaccine hesitancy, say experts

With around 1.15 crore people in Maharashtra yet to take the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, medical experts feel that the state government will have to adopt a more foolproof programme to counter the prevalent vaccine hesitancy. In December last year, the state had launched Dastak on Phones, an initiative to convince defaulters to get vaccinated. As part of the programme, district-wise call centres were put into action. But, Dr Avinash Desousa, president of Bombay Psychiatric Society, said that such programmes would need to address the fear with regards to side-effects post vaccination.

Dr Avinash Desousa

He pointed to a recent study published in the JAMA Network Open, which linked depression with endorsement of Covid-19 misinformation among US adults. The study conducted over two waves found that individuals with moderate or greater depressive symptoms were more likely to endorse vaccine-related misinformation cross-sectionally, and suggested the need to develop strategies to tackle this. "The findings of the study can be applied to India too. The tendency of cognitive distortion is higher in people who are depressed. Depression has been on the rise here and fake news has triggered further anxiety. Tackling misinformation will be a task for the state health officials," said Dr Desousa.

As a starting point, he said that officials should list the many myths related to vaccination and bust it with scientific evidence. "A door-to-door well-planned programme can help Maharashtra achieve full vaccination cover, too," he says. According to data available with state officials, 16 per cent of the eligible people have not taken their second dose. While struggling to convince people to take the jab, the state officials observed that many thought that the pandemic was over.

While explaining the importance of vaccination in fighting the pandemic, Dr Gautam Bhansali, physician Bombay Hospital, who is also coordinator of all private hospitals in the city, said, "It is seen that a majority of patients occupying oxygen beds were unvaccinated. It is clear that vaccination has played a crucial role as it prevents death and severe disease."