COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and attitude post-initiation of vaccination drive, a cross-sectional study across Odisha.

Objectives: To find the prevalence of COVID vaccine hesitancy amongst people of Odisha and reasons for the same. Design: Observational Study. Setting: Outpatients, inpatients, and attenders in tertiary health centers in Khorda, Tangi, and Mendhasal, Odisha, India; online data via google forms from people across the state. Duration of Study: April to June 2021. Participants: Convenience sampling of 450 adults aged between 18 and 60. Main Outcome Measure: Willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Results: Hesitancy rate stands at 12.7%, with 5.7% in the urban setting and 20.9% in rural (CI 95%, P = 0.000), 3.1% amongst males and 25.4% females (CI 95% P = 0.000), and 42.6% amongst the homemakers. Main reasons for vaccine hesitancy include lack of knowledge about efficacy,fear of side effects, and testing positive despite taking the vaccine. Conclusions: The near tripling of the hesitancy rates indicates a probable hindrance in stopping the spread of the infection. Family physicians have a significant role in alleviating the myths, counseling people, and managing adverse events.

Too little and too late. Initiation of breast feeding in Odisha, India: An observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess of the time of breastfeeding initiation, identify reasons for delay, if any and to assess if any prelacteal feeds were offered. METHODS: An observational study was conducted among the inpatients of a tertiary care centre in Bhubaneswar, India. A total of 385 mothers, without contraindications to breastfeeding were interviewed at the earliest after childbirth. RESULTS: Only 36.4% mothers initiated breastfeeding "timely." Those who had undergone vaginal delivery scored better than cesarean sections with 41.3% (CI 95%; P = 0.016). Rooming in helped at 37.6% (CI 95%; P = 0.006). Multiparous homemakers from nuclear families and those who had previously breast fed initiated earlier than their counterparts. Less than 5% (CI 95%; P = 0.056) offered prelacteal feeds, mostly water. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals an alarming decline in the timely initiation of breastfeeding in Odisha, India from 68.5% to 41.6%.