New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) India is the most pro-vaccine country in the world as 98 per cent of its eligible population want to get vaccinated against Covid-19, as per the IANS-CVoter Vaccine Tracker.
The data comes on a day when India reached the milestone of 100 crore vaccinations, and demonstrates that lack of vaccine hesitancy has played a big role in achieving this number.
CVoter Founder Yashwant Deshmukh said that India is the most pro-vaccine country in the world and at all times, 90 per cent or more wanted to get vaccinated.
The talk of vaccine hesitancy being high in India that may hold up the vaccination drive may have been a false narrative, Deshmukh said.
As many as 82 per cent of the eligible population has already received one dose of the Covid vaccine while 39 per cent have recived both the doses.
While India is intensely pro-vaccine, vaccine hesitancy is higher in Europe by 5 times and in the US by 10 times, as compared to India.
In the vaccination drive, the entire population may not be counted, as the eligible population is only above 18 years.
Only 2 per cent have said they do not want to get vaccinated, as per the tracker. The vaccine hesitancy was 12-13 per cent a year back, which has come down to only 2 per cent now.
In the tracker, when asked if the country of origin of the vaccine has no impact, 22.4 per cent disagreed and 70.1 per cent agreed with the notion. The 22.4 per cent represents aversion to Chinese vaccines.
A total of 15.4 per cent in the tracker disagreed with the notion that vaccines are compatible with religious beliefs. Even though 15.4 per cent said this, almost 13 per cent also said they will take the vaccine, leaving the vaccine hesitancy at only 2 per cent.
A total of 27.6 per cent of the respondents are 'satisfied to some extent', while 6.1 per cent chose the 'can't say/don't know' category. In the 'very much satisfied' category, Uttar Pradesh tops the list at 40.3 per cent, followed by Uttarakhand at 34.8 per cent, Manipur at 33 per cent, Goa at 18.8 per cent and Punjab at 14.4 per cent.
The UK travel advisory had made 10-day quarantine mandatory for Indian travellers, who have received both doses of Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The leaders have been demanding the arrest of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in connection with the death of farmers during the violence. Sidhu threatened to go on hunger strike if action is not taken against the minister's son by Friday.
The ministry said that all due protocols and norms relating to Covid-19, as notified by the Union Health Ministry from time to time, shall be adhered to by the foreign tourists, the carriers bringing them to India and all other stakeholders at the landing stations.
Tamil Nadu farmers association Deputy Secretary, P.S. Masilamani, who had participated in the farmers' agitation in New Delhi, told IANS that the farmers of Cauvery delta are "disturbed and outraged by the mowing down of fellow farmers and we are conducting peaceful protest marches in solidarity with the farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri."
A total of 28 civilians have been killed by terrorists in Kashmir in 2021, IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said in a statement on Thursday. The statement further said that in all such cases, the terrorists used pistols.
