Study of awareness about immunity and immunity boosters against Covid-19 in the general population of various age groups

AbstractBackground: The whole world is under a crisis due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) sinceDec 2019. Various preventive tools have been adopted worldwide due to the lack of strongpreventive measures (such as vaccines) and treating drugs. One of the major tools whichattracted global consciousness is immunity boosting. It was observed that most of thepopulation is conscious about their health, and they tend to follow various methods toincrease their immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been globally suggested thatstrong immunity is the best way to protect ourselves from the virus. However, the generalperception suffers from a lack of knowledge in immunity-boosting techniques and timelines.It has been observed that a general perception has built that immunity can be developedinstantly by adopting boosting measures. Hence immunity becomes one of the trendingtopics, and lots of commercials have been launched which falsely promise to be immunityboosting. As well there are reports of over usage of immunity boosters by masses withoutexpert consultation. With this motivation, we have conducted a questionnaire-based study toevaluate the actual awareness of people about immunity and immunity-boosting mechanisms.We examined 606 Indian participants of different age groups for their conception andadoption-related to immunity boosters.Results: We used a methodical-iterative technique to figure out the main themes in therecorded examined data. A qualitative analysis of the examined data reveals that 87.9 % ofparticipants were using boosters, and 26.8 % think that immunity can be developed instantly.The majority of the participants seek ancient Indian techniques to boost immunity like herbs,spices, yoga, etc.Conclusion: The data examination emphasized the idiographic convolutions inunderstanding the extensive range of essential factors on these examined people on immunityperception. The lack of knowledge about immunity leads to overconsumption of supplementsand generates a false hope of protection against Covid-19 among the population. Peoplenowadays are a lot more enthusiastic about increasing their immunity to protect themselvesand their loved ones. Stress-related problems have plagued a significant chunk of theparticipants, which has been one of the major reasons for deteriorating immunity. Peoplehave been looking for quick fixes for their stress-related issues in medicines instead ofcorrecting their unhealthy lifestyle. Opinion and Prospect: To verify our findings, we have verified the findings with experts indifferent immunity-boosting fields. Our results are in accordance with expert's opinions,which verify the authenticity of our examination. It reveals that the general public is awarethat strong immunity is a key to fight any disease. However, more emphasis is required onfake immunity-boosting promises and careful adoption of immunity-boosting tools with theconsultation of experts. A general protocol with dedicated guidelines has to be made tomonitor the immunity booster market.