Urban Indians are getting Covid-19 shots much faster than the people living in the countryside, exacerbating existing inequality
A pedestrian walks past a wall mural representing awareness measures against Covid-19 in Navi Mumbai on June 7, 2021. / Indranil Mukherjee
The disparity was even stronger last month, after the government allowed private sales of vaccines for adults aged under 45 years, an offer which favoured residents of cities with larger private hospital networks. For the first four weeks of May, those nine cities gave 16% more doses than the combined rural districts, data from the government's Co-WIN vaccination portal shows.
The ministry said it had asked states with fewer private hospitals to review the status of their vaccination campaigns and encourage some government-empanelled hospitals to strike deals with vaccine companies if need be.Meanwhile businesses in two of India's largest cities are reopening on Monday as part of a phased easing of lockdown measures in several states now that the number of new coronavirus infections in the country is on a steady decline.
In the coastal state of Maharashtra, home to the financial hub of Mumbai, and one of the worse hit states, malls, movie theaters, restaurants and offices reopened in districts where the positivity rate has fallen below 5 percent. The state’s huge rail network will, however, remain closed for the public.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government offers vaccines to vulnerable people, healthcare workers and those aged over 45 for free.Since last month, individual states have also been expected to procure vaccines for younger adults, or to provide them commercially through the private sector. Major international and domestic firms such as Microsoft , Pepsi, Amazon, Reliance Industries , Adani Group and Tata Motors have organised inoculations for their employees, in many cases in partnership with private hospitals. Most of these companies and the huge private hospitals that serve them are located in urban centres.
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