As India gears up to vaccinate more and more citizens after launching the world’s largest inoculation drive on Saturday, many healthcare workers are still concerned about the adverse side-effects they could experience following the jab.

In the first two days of the drive, the health ministry informed that only 2,24,000 of 3,00,000 planned vaccinations were carried out across the country.

This turnout was not something the Centre expected as it has aimed to immunise 300 million of the 1.3 billion population by July.

Also Read: Hospital employee dies in UP’s Moradabad a day after receiving COVID-19 vaccine shot

In Delhi alone, only 53% of people came forward for jabs, according to a health official, reported AFP.

“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 national capital.

With public doubt about the drugs spreading on social media, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan changed his Twitter profile header to say “VACCINES WORK”.

Photo Credit: Twitter Screengrab

“From the very beginning, we have warned people not to be worried about this misinformation that is being spread,” Vardhan told media.

Concerned health professionals, who are receiving the doses for free in the first phase of the campaign, are taking into consideration the experience of their colleagues and scouring newspapers as well as the Internet for information on possible adverse effects, reported PTI.

Jay Mahawer, a 24-year-old nursing staff, said he read about the vaccine and its side effects on the Internet.

Also Read: 447 adverse events reported after immunisation so far: Health Ministry

“There have been reports of reaction (adverse events) following vaccination. So, there was a little bit of anxiety,” he said, adding that he made up his mind only after he read about AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria taking the shot.

“I experienced dizziness for a few minutes after taking the vaccine. My family was already scared. So, I have not told them yet. I am feeling fine now,” he said.

In Tamil Nadu, the beneficiary turnout was only 16%, reported The Hindu. 

“People are very scared. We can’t force anyone to take the vaccine, it is voluntary,” said a doctor in Haryana, the state which saw only 29 out of 100 people showing up the jab.

India has so far approved two vaccines for use– Covishield and Covaxin. Covishield has been developed by the University of Oxford in collaboration with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). Covaxin, which is still in Phase 3 of clinical trials, is an indigenously developed vaccine by Bharat Biotech and National Institute of Virology. 

India has the world’s second-largest number of coronavirus cases, almost 10.5 million.