RATIONALE : As the COVID 19 vaccine uptake in Meghalaya is quite low compared to the rest of India this knowing their perception on the same will help us counter the issue.
METHODS : A Cross sectional study using mixed methods in Ten villages chosen in Adult Khasi population of Mawphlang province in Meghalaya with Sample Size of 300.
RESULTS : 8.8% of those surveyed were vaccinated, 88.4% of those surveyed were hesitant to take the vaccine, included those who are already vaccinated and obviously willing, 2.6 % of those surveyed among those who were unvaccinated were willing to get vaccinated now. 2.6 % of those parents who were surveyed were willing to let their children get vaccinated. Major reasons identified for vaccine hesitancy include religious reasons, fear of side effects, ignorance about it’s benefits etc.
CONCLUSION : The vaccine hesitancy for Covid 19 vaccinations was high in this area (88.4%), the reasons identified for vaccine hesitancy lack of knowledge, fear of side effects and religion, the best approach to increase coverage in this area is health education, involving all key stakeholders especially religious and Tribal leaders.