India’s coronavirus vaccination campaign trips at starting line

One-third of people offered jabs fail to show, with turnout in New Delhi at just 53 per cent

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan changed his Twitter profile header to say ‘VACCINES WORK’ in effort to quell doubts about the vaccines

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A resident of Himachal Pradesh, India, gets the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine shot at a clinic in on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:31pm, 18 Jan 2021Updated: 10:31pm, 18 Jan 2021

India on Monday stepped up efforts to bolster trust in coronavirus vaccines after it was revealed that nearly a third of those invited to get jabs at the launch of a nationwide drive failed to turn up.

The government has launched one of the world’s most ambitious vaccine programmes, aiming to inoculate 300 million of the 1.3 billion population by July.

In the first two days of the drive, which started Saturday, the government said 224,000 of 300,000 planned vaccinations were carried out.

In the capital New Delhi, only 53 per cent of people came forward for jabs, according to a health official.

“These are initial days and we understand people are waiting to see how the procedure pans out and how other vaccines fare,” said Suneela Garg, a member of the coronavirus task force for the capital. “These numbers will go up as confidence is strengthened. And for that, we have to tackle misinformation.”

The Hindu newspaper reported that in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the turnout was only 16 per cent.