Covid-19 in India: those forgotten by vaccination
A pedicab driver on the streets of New Delhi.
April 6, 2021 (Illustration).
REUTERS - ADNAN ABIDI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The Covid-19 epidemic is out of control in the country of Narendra Modi, with officially more than 90,000 deaths in the past month.
To respond to this crisis, the government is relying on vaccination, which has been extended for two weeks to all adults over 18 years of age.
But to receive a dose, you still have to register online and go to a hospital, which excludes tens of millions of poor people.
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With our correspondent in New Delhi,
Sébastien Farcis
Naveen sells melons and watermelons in an alley in a working-class area in southern New Delhi. He is in contact with people every day. At 50, he would like to be vaccinated, but he does not know how. “
I heard you have to go through the phone, but I don't know how it works,
” he said, pointing to a basic phone
. I will when I am notified
. "
In India, vaccine candidates are required to register online, which involves having a phone, internet connection, and understanding this technical process.
This excludes tens of millions of people, like Nitin Kumar, a rickshaw driver, who earns one euro a day.
“
I don't have a phone, no identity card,” he
explains, “
but who cares?
It is the rich who brought this virus from abroad, but it is the poor who are suffering from it.
"
"Vaccinate in front of gas pumps"
Public hospitals help the poorest check-in, but this does not convince Rajesh Kumar, a scooter driver.
“
I barely have enough to eat these days, I don't have time to waste on it.
The government should vaccinate us where we work, in front of gas pumps for example, that would help us
.
"
Today, only 3% of the Indian population is fully vaccinated.
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