Evaluation of strategies against vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 and Indian context - A systematic review

Abstract

The world has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of loss of lives, health, and its socioeconomic consequences; however, the true magnitude and extent of the damage from COVID-19 is still elusive till date. With the advent of many efficacious vaccines, one of the most effective ways to get to grips with the pandemic is mass vaccination. However, due to vaccine hesitancy (VH), it remains a colossal challenge globally thereby causing serious threat to the pandemic response efforts. This review intends to identify evaluated interventions and evidence to support recommendation of specific strategies to address VH from an Indian context. A systematic review was conducted to synthesize relevant literature around the evaluation of strategies to tackle VH for effectiveness or impact in India. Electronic databases were searched using specific keywords and predefined inclusion-exclusion criteria. A total of 133 articles were screened, 15 were assessed for eligibility, and two were included in the final review. There is a paucity of research on evaluation of vaccine hesitancy interventions in India. Evidence is not strong enough to recommend one specific strategy or intervention. Together, a permutation of multicomponent and tailored interventions has been found most effective in repressingVH in India.