Gurugram: Left out of vaccine net, young domestic workers struggle to find work
Gurugram: With a limited number of doses available for people under the 18-44 age category, many citizens are unable to get vaccinated. And with private hospitals now consolidating vaccine stocks for this age group, a sharp class divide has emerged in access to Covid vaccines.
Under this age group, a large number of domestic workers now fear not only the worst prospect of contracting the infection but also the possibility of losing out on work in many households because of not being vaccinated.
Several domestic workers have not only contracted the infection in the present wave of COVID-19 but also lost their jobs. With large numbers of families in residential societies of Gurugram having been infected by COVID-19, the services of many of the domestic workers in these societies were discontinued by their employers as a part of "precautionary measures".
With more than a month into the vaccination drive for the 18-44 age category, a large number of domestic workers are trying to get vaccinated. However, a shortage of vaccines for this age group, coupled with the inaccessibility to vaccines in private hospitals, is resulting in several getting left out.
Government centres in Gurugram for five days in a row now have not been able to carry out vaccination drives for the 18-44 age group because of a lack of vaccines
Most of the domestic workers are now relying on their employers for providing them with a vaccine slot. There are some workers who have been lucky to get their first dose through special vaccination drives that were carried out in certain residential societies early on in the vaccination drive.
"For one-and-a-half months, I have not been able to earn enough money as members of houses where I worked contracted COVID-19. Most of them have not called me back to work as they fear I can be carried for spreading infection. I have been trying to get vaccinated but have not been able to be successful as of now," said Anjali, a 30-year-old domestic worker who is a mother to three children.
Another domestic worker, Shilpa, who contracted COVID-19 during this wave said, "Several of my employers discontinued services after I contracted COVID-19. Though I have been fortunate enough to come out of this disease, sustaining my livelihood is now proving to be a major challenge as many employers are hesitant to take me back till the time I and my family members get vaccinated."
"I recently got my domestic worker and her husband vaccinated in a private hospital in the city. I feel at a time when there is a huge shortage of vaccines as employers we must come forward and try to vaccinate our domestic helps," said Namrata Kapoor a resident of South City 1.
