Let’s Adopt A Mix-And-Match Approach To Vaccination

Context: India should combine its technology interface with human outreach to maximize dose coverage.

4 specific recommendations for vaccination: India needs a ‘phygital’ (physical+digital) approach to vaccination with the following elements -

• Supplementing the ‘pull’ model with the ‘push’ model:
  • The ‘pull’ model: For those who seek vaccination and must come to the government and the local administrations need to pursue a ‘vaccination camp’-based saturation model.
    • Clear data-based, time-bound targets for each district can be set in keeping with vaccine supply.
  • The ‘push’ model: To reach those most likely to be excluded.
    • For e.g. In its battle against polio, India used house-to-house vaccination drives to reach those children not covered by fixed vaccination sites.
    • While operational challenges may make a door-to-door campaign infeasible for covid vaccinations, a camp model could still immunize hardest-to-reach communities.
• Engaging local NGOs, ASHA and Anganwadi workers: Such trusted intermediaries enjoy ‘social capital’ with local communities and play an important role in facilitating access to e-governance services.
  • They need to suitably incentivised: E.g. Aadhaar was able to enrol millions of people in a short span because there was a reasonable compensation for enrolment agencies.
• Put special emphasis on vaccinating migrants:
  • ‘Walk-in’ covid vaccination camps at migrant convergence points like railway and bus stations could be considered.
  • In 2004, India introduced ‘transit immunization’ of migrants at street intersections, bus stands and railway stations to combat polio; as many as 40% of cases outside Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
• Address vaccine hesitancy in mission-mode: Especially in the rural areas.
  • Employing influencers:g. During the polio drive, India leveraged community leaders and influencers to spread the message among people about polio drops.
  • Influencing behaviour change: Such as mass-media storytelling should also be deployed.
    • E.g. Programmes such as Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, on Doordarshan and All India Radio, reached millions of Indian and influenced their attitudes on women empowerment.

Conclusion: A ‘phygital’ approach that combines the best of a digital interface with a human outreach, learning from past efforts, would offer the country a reasonable chance of getting there.