In a shocking development that showcases the rampant hesitancy and fear among the people of several Indian states in receiving the COVID-19 vaccines, the people in the BJP ruling state of Uttar Pradesh have reportedly jumped into the river to avoid the vaccination. The appalling story has been making headlines across the country and displayed that most people are reluctant in getting vaccinated amid the government's campaign about the efficacy of the vaccines. 

According to reports, a group of people in Uttar Pradesh's Sisaurha village had jumped into a river after sighting a group of healthcare workers, who had visited the village to carry out the COVID-19 vaccination drive. Sub-divisional magistrate of the area Rajiv Kumar Shukla said that the incident had occurred on Saturday and the villagers had jumped into the Saryu river. 

After learning about the shocking development, the health officials had camped in the village and counselled the villagers to understand the importance of receiving the vaccine and its efficacy. However, the counselling had only invited 18 people in the village to receive the vaccine. The reports say that the villagers had taken the extreme step of jumping into the river after they were told that the vaccine was a poisonous infection.

The development had heavily disturbed the government as it has levied a huge setback in the Covid vaccination campaign. Though Uttar Pradesh had administered over 1.62 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Saturday, the state has explicitly showcased the hesitancy among the people in receiving vaccines. Apart from Uttar Pradesh, several states have been witnessing such reluctance in receiving the vaccines. 

Earlier, during an interview, Tamil Nadu Health Minister M Subramanian has said that one of the major challenges for the state government in its fight against the pandemic is the hesitancy of the people in rural areas and the poor in urban areas to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He said that the government has been creating awareness for the people to get vaccinated. 

The development in Uttar Pradesh has come when the Central government has targeted to vaccinate the larger populace of the country by the end of this December. Last week, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that India will have procured 267 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of this year and the country will be in the position to inoculate at least all of its adult population. The health minister said that the country will have 51 crores COVID-19 vaccine doses by July and 216 crores more between August and December.