India started providing Covid-19 vaccination on January 16 and it is slowly maximizing. According to a data conducted on 27 May 2,057,20,660 people get vaccinated overall in which 83,071,923 are male, 73,073,573 are female and 23,499 are others.
Female rate of getting vaccinated is quite less than the male rate. Why there is this gender gap? Vaccination is the only method through which we can make ourselves protected from Covid. Why women are not getting vaccine? Is there any pressure from male members? Lower mobility and decision-making capacity amongst women can result in less vaccination. Socio-cultural factors that are deeply rooted in the rural areas will make it more worse. Many women don’t know how to register for vaccination slot online due to which they have to be dependent on men. Besides this there are alot of myths and rumours mostly found in the rural areas related to women vaccination. They think it can impact women’s menstruation cycle and fertility. Pregnant women hesitate to get jab. These myths need to be removed from the roots so that women’s rate of vaccination become equals to men. Women are nurturers, providers and caregivers in the society they need to be vaccinated and be healthy. Gender related barriers should be analyzed and removed. By campaigning and making posters to aware women about vaccination rallies can be conducted in the rural and urban areas. This can help in motivating more women.
As we know, impact of Covid-19 is not based on gender. It’s gender neutral. It is a disease that can occur to any gender so, there is a need of gender equality in vaccination of Covid-19.