India has an adult population of 94 crores, and approximately 68 crores have already taken at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine so far (Mint, 2021). This means about 26% percent of the adult population of India has not yet taken even the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Again, Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest states of India hosting a large number of tribal populations (21.1%), it has become necessary for understanding the reason behind the acceptance and hesitancy in regard to the Covid-19 vaccines. Therefore, the present study tries to explore the determinants or the different reasons which could lead to the vaccine hesitancy of the tribal populations dwelling in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The study was conducted among adult men and women above the age of 18 years who had not received even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. We administered the questionnaire face-to-face to all the participants and entered their responses right there and then manually or through the data collection app. Apart from this, key informant interviews, case studies, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews would also be conducted for qualitative data collection.
Vaccine hesitancy or refusal has many underlying contextual as well as individual or personal factors. Therefore, addressing this emotionally charged topic with a conversation with the target group is the most important and the need of the hour. A few very important research outcomes expected from this study are to stop demonizing the vaccine-hesitant individuals which only creates further division and exacerbates an “us vs. them” mentality.
