We have undertaken a study to understand vaccine hesitancy in India.  The study explores the conversations, myths, and misconceptions at the household and community level around the COVID-19 vaccine.

Data is being gathered across 20+ states through frequent and cross-sectional data collection  The findings of this study are continuously contributing towards improving the Risk Communication and Community Engagement strategies to improve uptake of COVID-19 vaccine and respond to vaccine myths and miscommunication.

One of the key objectives of the study is to identify the key myths and misconceptions around the Covid-19 Vaccination spreading through various communication channels theories. The other objective is to develop an understanding of the various factors of barriers, attitudes, perceptions, and concerns that drive hesitancy or refusals among the most marginalized communities. The study is also looking to identify effective levers and motivators of behaviour change regarding the Covid-19 vaccination and renewed demand for essential services (health, nutrition, and education).

The study uses an exploratory-descriptive approach while leveraging the offline ‘social listening’ methodology. The areas of inquiry for the study are guided by the Vaccine Determinants Matrix developed by the WHO-SAGE Working Group. The study comprises six rounds of data collection from 2000 respondents cumulatively through regular telephonic interviews over a period of one year. The respondents are drawn from the pool of households empaneled with Sambodhi Panels using purposive sampling across different axis of marginalities. In each round, 300-400 respondents are interviewed from states.