Title: COVID AWARENESS

OBJECTIVE:Awareness regarding importance of vaccine and to remove

“vaccine hesistancy”
Project1:Video highlighting the benefits of vaccine and debunking the myths
related to it.

How it will benefit society?

Since the starting of vaccinations people have many
apprehensions on vaccine safety .Every other day we we get
to hear such news:
“Officials attacked in Madhya Pradesh village over ‘vaccine
reluctance’, two arrested”
And not just the uneducated/rural people are reluctant to
take the vaccines.I have seen much educated and well off
people in my locality(Bhopal) hesistant to take vaccines.
According to a survey conducted by The Quint “42% People
in parts of UP, Bihar, MP Say Won’t Take COVID Vaccine”
POSSIBLE REASONS BEHIND IT:
1.Of the people who refuse to take the vaccine, nearly 68
percent believe that the vaccine will not protect them from
COVID.

2.Though the government is making every possible effort to

create awareness in people and vaccinate them but lack of
trust in the government and health authorities was also
quoted to be one of the reasons behind vaccine hesitancy by
participants.
As per the findings, overall 45 percent of people hesistant to
take vaccine believe that COVID is a government conspiracy
and that asking them to vaccinate and wear masks is mere
propaganda.

3. Myths about COVID-19 vaccines are the biggest hurdle to

vaccination coverage in India’s hinterlands

Reports have showed how such rumours have led to fear and

panic in the rural areas, which have been severely impacted
in the second wave of the pandemic.

A survey conducted in the US and the UK has also found that

exposure to misinformation reduced vaccine acceptance in
India.

Misinformation or lack of proper information about the

vaccine’s efficacy has also made people suspicious of the
vaccine. 55 percent of the respondents said that they were
fearful of getting the vaccine.
When asked about their reliable source of
information,following results were obtained:
 Reliable source of information (media)

22% Whatsapp
Facebook
Newspaper
Television
54%
13%

10%

54% of People Believe WhatsApp Forwards

Of the respondents who were surveyed, it was found that
nearly 54 percent considered WhatsApp a reliable source of
information and nearly 11 percent considered it to be their
primary source of information about COVID-19.

On the other hand, 55 percent of the people said that they

trust Facebook posts and 10 percent relied on it as their
primary source of information.

Overall the survey suggests that the spread of

misinformation, lack of credible news sources and trust
deficit on the part of the government health and
information networks had given rise to vaccine hesitancy
the most vulnerable communities.

My project aims to address and reach out such people who

rely on social media platforms(Whatsapp,Facebook) for
information.It can act as a strong platform for spreading
public health awareness.I have collected data from various
authentic sources(WHO website,mygov.in,research
studies,articles by various print houses,videos by renowned
hospitals of India:Medanta,Apollo) and compiled them briefly
so that if a person has some concerns regarding the vaccine
he/she need not go through different resources and spent
time in verifying them.And being a student volunteer of NSS
the video may serve as a trustworthy source of knowledge for
the masses..I look forward to your support in making this
video available to a large number of people .
Reason for choosing this topic:I chose this topic because
earlier I too was not fully convinced regarding the vaccine
but after researching on it my doubts were cleared but I
know most people would not care to do that hard work.
Project2:Video on tips for Covid home treatment.

How it will benefit society?

Recently I suffered from Covid-19 and at the time of my
home treatment I found that the information for effective
home treatment available across web was very scattered.I
went through some videos by renowned doctors but most of
them were either in parts or too long .I believe that very few
people have the patience to go through a 45-60 minutes
video.So I thought of making a concise video covering the
major points common for all patients of different age
groups(in accordance with WHO guidelines).I have avoided
the use of controversial information which are either not
scientifically approved or have different opinions(like the use
of antibiotics)
How is it different from other sources already available?
Anxiety about COVID-19 makes people more willing to "try
anything" that might give them a sense of control of the
situation, making them easy targets for scams. Many false
claims about COVID-19 treatment have circulated widely
on social media, but some have been circulated by text, on
YouTube, and even in some mainstream media.
Misinformation messages may use scare tactics ,claim to
have all the facts while others do not, and jump to unusual
conclusions. The public was advised to check the information
source's source, looking on official websites; some messages
have falsely claimed to be from official bodies like UNICEF
and government agencies.
There are many fake or unproven medical products and
methods that claim to cure COVID-19(coronil). Fake
medicines sold for COVID-19 may not contain the ingredients
they claim to contain, and may even contain harmful
ingredients. In March 2020, the World Health
Organization (WHO) released a statement recommending
against taking any medicines in an attempt to treat or cure
COVID-19 .There are also many claims that existing products
help against COVID-19, which are spread through rumors
online rather than conventional marketing. Some of the
pretend treatments are also poisonous; hundreds of people
have died from using fake COVID-19 treatments.
Many of the alleged ‘cures’ for Covid-19 followed a similar
pattern: many took the form of ostensibly harmless home
remedies, made up of inexpensive, easy-to-source
ingredients.
To warn people about these false claims I made this
video.Moreover if effective home treatment is provided on
time then it may avoid the possibility of case becoming
fatal/serious.