One in four citizens are forced to be vaccinated against corona

New Delhi: A recent survey by the digital community-based platform said that despite the voluntary vaccination of Covid-19 in the country, one in four citizens feel compelled to be vaccinated against corona. They say local administrations, companies and associations have made vaccination mandatory for them. The survey, conducted by LokSircles in 328 districts of India, was attended by 36,000 respondents. In it, 26 per cent respondents noted that the local administration should make covid vaccine mandatory for all citizens of the district. The Union Ministry of Health told the Bombay High Court in Goa in October that the Covid-19 vaccination was a social duty.

According to the survey, 29 per cent of respondents said that associations or civic bodies in their area, such as societies or markets, have required proof of Covid-19 vaccine for entry.

Fifty per cent of respondents said that they or their family members' companies have made the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory and the remaining 15 per cent said that their employers have made the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory but they do not take extreme measures.

He said 66 per cent of the respondents were men, while the remaining 34 per cent were women. Of these respondents, 41 per cent were from tertiary cities, 35 per cent from second tier cities and 24 per cent from tertiary and fourth tier provinces and rural districts.

Local circles have seen a number of instances where the local administration has forced people to get vaccinated, including some denial of benefits, the survey said in its report.

For example, people said that the collector of Aurangabad district had directed ration shops, gas agencies and petrol pumps to provide service only to those who had taken at least one dose of covid vaccine.

Similarly, the Thane Municipal Corporation announced that its employees, officers and frontline workers would be paid only if they had to submit a certificate of taking the first dose of Covid-18.

Sachin Tapariya, founder of LocalCurcles, said the agency has been tracking the hesitation in getting vaccinated for the last 12 months. This level reached an all-time low in October. Only 70 million people were reluctant to be vaccinated. However, this figure continued to rise, due to the reduction in the number of cases of covid-cocaine and Covid-12 cases.