[ad_1]
When a health worker wiped the skin on his arm with an alcohol wipe and prepared a syringe, Kartik Biswas felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
He is finally getting his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which is part of Kerala in southern India’s vaccinations for the country’s most marginalized population: migrant workers.
It is rare for migrant workers, who account for one-fifth of India’s 100 million labor force, to be targeted for state assistance.
However, in recent weeks, officials in this southern coastal state have been administering injections at their workplaces, setting up vaccination camps and posting public health posters in local languages, urging migrant workers to protect themselves from the virus in the face of increasing cases.
“I stayed at home for a year during the lockdown, and it was very difficult for me to get back to work. If I am not in good health, who will take care of my family? I am determined to be vaccinated,” said Biswas, a 44-year-old construction site supervisor.
Repeated blockades have shut down industries and caused millions of people to lose their jobs. The brutal second wave of the epidemic in May overwhelmed India’s medical system. India is the worst-hit country in the world, second only to the United States.
Biswas, who moved from Kolkata to Kerala four years ago, was one of 500 workers who were vaccinated at a three-day camp organized by the Ministry of Labor at his workplace last week.
Of the 300,000 workers officially recorded, the state has vaccinated approximately 34,000 workers with the first dose and approximately 1,000 workers with the second dose.
“I feel much more relaxed. Five of my six roommates contracted COVID-19 during the peak of the second wave. Since then, I have tried vaccination but failed,” Biswas told by phone Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Vaccination is essential for us to protect our lives and future.”
India’s goal is to vaccinate all willing and eligible citizens by the end of the year, but vaccination efforts have been hit by shortages, hesitation and the digital divide.
Migrant workers are one of the groups most severely affected by the epidemic. Government data show that as many as 11.4 million people have returned to their hometowns during the lockdown due to job depletion.
However, as the state government eased restrictions and the number of infected people fell, most economic activity has resumed. Data from an independent think tank shows that the unemployment rate is gradually declining.
Countries such as Kerala have attracted immigrants in the past decade and have seen immigrants from all over India return to hotels, factories and construction sites in search of work.
“We have a large number of migrant workers, and they should all be vaccinated. The doses we get are limited, but we are distributing the doses we get and setting up separate vaccination camps for migrant workers,” said Kerala Labor Commissioner S Chithra .
“We are working hard to raise awareness of the harmlessness of vaccines. We have posted posters in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Odiya on social media,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
According to data from the Federal Ministry of Health, approximately 12% of India’s 940 million adults have received the vaccine, and more than 40% have received the first dose.
Vaccinations are seen as the key to opening more jobs and moving between states more easily. Some of them require people to show a COVID-19 test, which costs 800 rupees ($10.78)-many people’s wages for a few days- Or proof of double vaccination to enter.
On the other side of India, in the village of Tarinipur in the northeastern part of Assam, Tahir Hussein Tarukdar said that he had searched for vaccines in local medical institutions three times, but without success. .
Talukdar, 25, lost his housekeeping job in a multi-house in southeastern Andhra Pradesh. He said he had survived with aid in the past year.
“I don’t have a job in my village. The labor contractor I’ve been calling told me to get vaccinated before coming. I need the vaccine because this is the only way I can find a job,” Talukdar said.
Fearing that the third wave will break out, India has redoubled its efforts.
Several construction companies and major enterprises have arranged for their employees (including payroll and informal workers) to be vaccinated.
State health workers are climbing mountains and sailing along rivers and lakes to reach the most remote parts of the country. However, activists and immigration experts warn that the pace of vaccination is still slow and many people are still in trouble.
Although the manufacturing, construction, and hotel industries urgently need immigration, they are often still unknown.
“I am asking whether people seeking daily wage jobs have been vaccinated,” said Beno Peter, head of the Center for Immigration and Inclusive Development, which cooperates with Kerala to operate a mobile vaccination unit for immigrants in Kerala. .
Peter said that the vaccination campaign in Kerala must be “sensitive to the challenges of immigration” and suggested setting up more camps on Sundays and evenings to reach out to workers who may be neglected, such as day laborers, waste collectors and women.
Most migrant workers work in the informal sector. Activists said that because they do not have a stable employer, they cannot spare time for vaccination and are unlikely to be invited to vaccination camps.
Sanjay Awasthi, head of the International Organization for Migration in India, said: “This part is the most vulnerable in the challenges they face in getting vaccines.” “Their coverage must be taken into account.”
Immigrants who received injections in Kerala hope to return to life before the pandemic.
Samir Kuanar, 37, lost his job as a plumber in Kuwait when the pandemic hit last year, and in July managed to get an interview with a Qatari agency that provides domestic labor.
“They gave me a letter of acceptance, but I ran into a barrier-I didn’t get the vaccine,” Kuna said.
Fortunately, he received the first dose last week. “I hope to take off soon. Vaccination is my ticket to work,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link