BHOPAL: Representatives of the Organisation of Youth say the fear of an adverse impact on their health and a lack of awareness are keeping youths away from volunteering for the ongoing Covaxin trials in the city.
Two medical institutions in the city — People’s Medical College and Gandhi Medical College — have been authorised to conduct human trials of Covaxin, India’s indigenous Corona vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech. Both the institutions, however, are desperately short of volunteers.
The youth representatives say the reports of a Chennai man developing neurological problems after getting Covaxin shots and a Haryana Minister testing positive for Covid-19 despite having been inoculated have added to the fears of the people.
District coordinator of the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Bhopal, Surendra Shukla says that, with colleges, universities and coaching classes in the city being shut, thousands of students who were staying in Bhopal have left for their native villages and towns. “Only a handful of them are staying back,” he says. Moreover, the institutions conducting the trials, or the government are not guaranteeing that, if the volunteers suffer any ill-effects, they will be taken care of. “In such circumstances, who would want to take the risk?” he asks.
Roli Shivhare, founder of Aawaz Sanstha, Bhopal, says that, when the government can launch campaigns to persuade people to donate blood and organs (after death), why can it not launch a campaign exhorting the people to join the vaccine trials? “Media reports say that a man in Chennai has developed neurological problems after getting C-vaccine shots. However, the institution which injected him with the vaccine has washed its hands of the incident, saying the problem has no connection with the vaccination. How do you expect the youths to come forward and risk their lives when they know that, if they volunteer, they may end up with serious complications and the government won’t even guarantee their treatment?” she asks.
Shailendra Dubey of Jeevan Sarthak Social and Welfare Society, Bhopal, said the people were apprehensive and they feared that exposing themselves to an untested vaccine might create problems for them. “There’s a report that a man in Spain who lost his memory after joining the trials for a vaccine. No one knows what long-term effects the vaccine may have. On top of that, a minister in the Haryana government who volunteered for the trials has tested positive for Covid-19,” he says.
‘Personal challenges’
‘The youths are already facing challenges at a personal level. A large number of them have lost their jobs. The educational institutions are closed and no one knows when they’ll open. Amid all this, it’ll be too much to expect that they should risk their lives’
— Vimal Jat of Synergy Sansthan, Harda
‘Why would anyone jeopardise his or her life and health? When recovered Covid-19 patients were wary of donating plasma, how do we expect they’ll come forward to get themselves injected with a vaccine under trial?’
— Asma Khan from Youth Brigade, Bhopal