Understanding Factors to COVID-19 Vaccine Adoption in Gujarat, India

Viral Tolia, Rajkumar Renin Singh, Sameer Deshpande, Anupama Dave and Raju M. Rathod
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Viral Tolia: Post Graduate Department of Business Management, Sardar Patel University, Anand 388120, Gujarat, India
Rajkumar Renin Singh: Shanti Business School, Ahmedabad 380058, Gujarat, India
Sameer Deshpande: Social Marketing @ Griffith, Griffith Business School, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia
Anupama Dave: School of Business and Law, Navrachana University, Vadodara 391410, Gujarat, India
Raju M. Rathod: Post Graduate Department of Business Management, Sardar Patel University, Anand 388120, Gujarat, India

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed threats to human life across the globe, including India. Vaccinating is an effective means of addressing the pandemic threat. The government of India has implemented a massive vaccination drive to save its citizens from the deadly virus. However, the effort has faced multiple challenges, including vaccine hesitancy. This research understands respondents’ perspectives on factors contributing to the lower vaccination uptake in Gujarat, India. Forty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted through convenience sampling representing different demographic backgrounds. Factors influencing vaccine adoption included religious leadership, political leadership and the government, and fear of side effects, especially among children and those with co-morbidities, resulting primarily from fake news and misinformation circulated through social media. Compared with nine countries from across the world, the study found similarities to vaccine hesitancy from misinformation and the fear of side effects among children. In contrast, the role of government and the influence of religious and political leaders was considered positive. The study recommends strategies to overcome people’s apprehensions about the adoption of vaccination. These include offering incentives, providing positive peer-to-peer communication, recruiting influencers such as religious and community leaders and early adopters such as the elderly population to endorse vaccination, targeting youth through social media, and reaching rural sections by involving NGOs and social service groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; vaccine uptake; social marketing; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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