Gender inequity in vaccination

In 2010, when the Right to Education Act was passed to provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of six and 14, the dropout rate for girls across the country was 50%. Numerous surveys revealed that one of most cited reasons for dropping out that young girls gave was that they had to take care of their siblings. This was 10 years ago. Many of those young girls would now be adults. Most will be employed in unpaid domestic care work; some will be active participants of familyrun enterprises. Many will be living in families split by migration — with earning members of the family in large urban centres. Among those who did find employment in cities, the pandemic of the past year has wreaked havoc. More women than men have fallen out of the workforce, and not returned to it, as data recorded by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s Consumer Pyramid Household Survey shows.

However, now, they are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination. Some states have announced free vaccines for all eligible people (with no clarity on when doses will be available) but, according to the guidelines issued by the Union government, the vaccines will also be available in private clinics but for a cost. In such a scenario, will many households consider vaccination for young women members as a priority? They are likely to be non-earning members of the family, unable to access resource material about the vaccine, and with little decisionmaking power over expenditure. It seems unlikely that they will be treated on par with young adult male members of the family, opening up another front of discrimination. This is avoidable.