Why India's Transgender Community Is Demanding Separate COVID Vaccination Centres

Amid the faltering vaccination drive across the country, India's transgender community is bearing the brunt due to lack of vaccines.

According to government data, only 25,468 (5.22 per cent) transgender persons have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in India till now, and there are several factors responsible for such grim figure.

Per the 2011 census, there are 4.87 lakh transgenders in the country.

Activists blame misinformation, lack of government identification cards and poor internet access for obstructing India¡¯s trans community to get vaccinated.

Dr Aqsa Shaikh, a transwoman helming a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Delhi, says many members of the transgender community in India are reluctant to get the jab, given the social stigma.

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"There's a severe shortage of vaccines in the country. Most states have shut down vaccination centres for younger age group. The inoculation programme for the 18-45 age group was launched with much fervour but fell flat shortly after," says Dr Aqsa.

Elaborating how severely it affects the transgender community, Dr Aqsa says that the average life span of a transperson isn't on a par with the average life span of cis male or cis female. ¡°This rules out their inoculation in the 60+ age group."

"Most members of the trans community belong in the 18+ to 45 age group, but the shortage of vaccines puts them at even greater risk," she asseverates.

She said that to beat the stigma, the government must devise a plan to organise trans-specific vaccination drives across the country, and create separate vaccination centres for trans people adding that "vaccination of transgender people must be prioritised to shield them from the virus."

The community has a high prevalence of co-morbidities and autoimmune diseases like HIV among its members. Despite that, they are unable to make it to the vaccination centres.

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Some members of the trans community have faced discrimination at vaccination centres. Many do have an Aadhaar card but do not own a smartphone and are hesitant to go for walk-in vaccination fearing discrimination.

"My friend went and she was driven away by the people queuing outside who told her she can't get vaccinated with them. I want to go with an appointment so no one can say that but with no smartphone that is very difficult," said 44-year-old Samina (name changed).

Many others like Samina are now waiting for a special vaccination drive as planned by the government.

The Centre had recently asked states to ensure that there was no discrimination against transgender persons at COVID-19 vaccination centres.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has also urged the states to conduct awareness drives, especially to reach out to members of the transgender community in different vernaculars to ensure that they are informed and aware of the vaccination process.

The ministry has also requested states to organise separate mobile vaccination centres or booths for vaccination of transgender persons such as those taken up in the states of Haryana and Assam.