Trans people share joy after desperately-needed COVID-19 vaccine drive: ‘I felt human’

At least 70 trans people were vaccinated in one day against COVID-19, as part of a successful vaccine drive in India.

Trans people in India are often excluded from social safety nets and the pandemic has been no exception.

The vaccine drive, at SL Raheja Hospital in Mahim, Mumbai, was an effort to reach members of this vulnerable group.

“Many trans members are immunocompromised and are at a greater risk of infection from the virus,” Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a trans activist, told News18.

Tripathi added: “We are extremely happy that a hospital has initiated such a drive, and have helped trans members get vaccinated in a hassle free manner.”

Trans people in India often lack identification documents, or have documents in the wrong gender, which can exclude them from being vaccinated as part of the public health programme.

Trans people in India can get ID documents in the correct gender through an online portal, without the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, but activists point to the fact that many trans people will not have access to a computer.

Another barrier to vaccination is trans people fearing that they will be poorly treated by the vaccination medics.