Meet 'Vaccine Didi,' A Transgender Who Fought Vaccine Rumours To Get Shots For Her Community

In India, the transgender community has been facing many issues daily, and no one can listen to their woes.

This community has always been neglected and seen as a downtrodden one.

The Indian Express

When pandemic hit the India, the community was the worst sufferer because their livelihood depended on singing at functions, sex work, and begging, and all were disrupted. Vaccination was also an issue as much was spoken about its adverse effects.

In fact, many were showing hesitance fearing the vaccine reacting badly with sex change hormones.

Dispelling vaccine rumours

However, a trans woman from Chhattisgarh¡¯s Durg has taken the responsibility to dispel the rumours related to taking the COVID vaccine, and it gets it for his community.

¡°I too had hesitations about the COVID-19 vaccine, especially as I had recently undergone a sex reassignment surgery, and after the first shot, I had fallen sick. But once I understood the importance of taking the shot, I wanted everyone in my community to get it,¡± said Kanchan Sendre.

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Sendre was convinced about the safety of the vaccine through the multiple engagements that she had with the MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity Project team, a USAID-funded initiative that helps the Central and state governments accelerate COVID-19 vaccine coverage. USAID awarded the Momentum Project to John Snow India Research & Training Institute Inc in 2021.

Why vaccine hesitancy?

She said that many factors were responsible for the vaccine hesitancy.

¡°Apart from the usual rumours on social media etc., the transgender community had some specific concerns. Many of them take sex change hormones, some are HIV positive. They did not know how their bodies would react to the vaccine. Also, many no longer identify with the gender mentioned on their official ID cards. They feared ridicule at vaccination centres. Since I understood their problems, I could convince them. I was determined I would not give up,¡± Sendre said.

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Sendre has been working for the welfare of her community since 2008. She is a member of the Third Gender Welfare Board of the Chhattisgarh government and runs an organisation called Sangharsh Samiti, which helps transgender people get jobs, government benefits, and social and economic acceptance.

She puts hard efforts

Thanks to Sendre¡¯s efforts, in December 2021, a vaccination camp for transgender people was held in Durg, in collaboration with the project and the state government. The benefits went beyond just COVID-19 vaccination. They have explained the need and importance of the vaccine in a manner they would understand.

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Sendre is hopeful her efforts for the vaccination will also benefit her community in other ways. ¡°My life¡¯s mission is to pull my community from the margins. I hope this experience of getting vaccinated will encourage trans people to come forward and claim more government benefits as equal members of the society,¡± she adds.

65 transgendered people in the Durg district have taken the shot, and she feels that her seven months of hard work has not been wasted. This earned her the epithet of ¡®Vaccine Didi¡¯.

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