Anti-vaxxers who gave in are now scrambling to ‘undo' their jab

At 44, Vishal Hiwale, bra-vely states that he neit-her believes in Covid-19 nor the anti-Covid vaccines.

At 44, Vishal Hiwale, bra-vely states that he neit-her believes in Covid-19 nor the anti-Covid vaccines. Even as two waves of the coronavirus swept through the country, Hiwale held his ground and refused to wear a mask or get inoculated. Fast forward to November, he stands one jab down, one more to go. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Marian Mashraki, whose parents raised her to believe that the best medicine is all natural, after months of deliberation made peace with the needle and is currently jabbed with two doses of the vaccine.

In a surprising twist in the pandemic tale, some anti-vaxxers like Hiwale and Mashraki are either getting vaccinated or are planning to. Not because of a change of heart but begrudgingly given the social pressure, stricter curbs and workplace mandates that warn of severe action against the unvaccinated. “I got caught for ticketless train travel. Neither me nor my wife were getting train passes or entry into malls for being unvaccinated. We have children and it was getting difficult to take them to school or go shopping… Also, I heard that the state may bar the unvaccinated from availing government schemes,” rues Hiwale, describing what drove him to the vaccine camp.