The Allahabad High Court asked the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government to tell how they would vaccinate "those illiterate labourers and other villagers between the age group of 18 and 45 years if they are not able to register online for vaccination."
A Division Bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar observed:
"We may further observe that a large number of our population still resides in villages and there are people who are only labourers between the age group...
"The Central Government and State Government are directed to place before this Court the programme by which they would vaccinate those illiterate labourers and other villagers between the age group of 18 and 45 years if they are not able to register online for vaccination."
The observation made by the Allahabad High Court comes in the wake of a humongous class divide in India, which must be addressed on priority as the country plans to vaccinate its majority population.?
The COVID vaccination drive is opening up a class divide -- almost every vaccination centre in India's big cities is reporting more recipients from the wealthier neighbourhoods than the lower-middle class areas.
The trend has been noticed in cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and other big cities.
The issue of mandatory Co-Win registration as part of vaccination strategy, is emerging as the key potential barrier for people in hinterlands, where internet penetration is low and technical illiteracy remains high.
In the guidelines for the ¡°Liberalised and Accelerated Phase 3 Strategy of COVID-19 Vaccination¡±, the Centre mandated prior online registration on the CoWin portal for the 18-44 years age group.
Mandatory online registration favours urban centres, given that a little over half of India's population has access to broadband internet, while rural tele density is under 60 per cent.
States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh are among those with lowest tele density.
Booking vaccination slots is nothing short of a competitive sport, but for the rural population, booking slots -- which requires multiple attempts -- is more difficult; less access and unfamiliarity with technology being the key hindrances.
The 2011 Census showed English is the primary language¡ªmother tongue¡ªof 256,000 people, the second language of 83 million people, and the third language of another 46 million people, making it the second-most widely spoken language after Hindi.
At least 528 million speak Hindi as a first language.?
The unavailability of the Co-Win portal in languages other than English is an entry-level barrier in rural India.
For someone who doesn't know English, registering themselves for COVID vaccination is impossible.
Other government apps which allow registration, such as Aarogya Setu, which come with an option to change the language, only allow registration in English.
People with the know-how can also book vaccination appointments outside of their city limits, potentially depriving the rural beneficiaries of the jab.
Meanwhile, social media is flooded with pictures of affluent Indians posing with their vaccination certificates after receiving the jabs.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country has administered 17,52,35,991 doses of vaccines as of May 11.