Guwahati: The Assam government has launched a commendable initiative amid the ongoing corona vaccination drive in the country. The special vaccination program run by the state health department vaccinated 40 transgender community members in Guwahati on Friday. Members of the third gender shelter home were vaccinated.
Swati Bidan Barua, Associate Vice Chairman, Transgender Welfare Board, Assam, said that while members of our community beg on the streets, they are also at a higher risk of being exposed to infection. He said that there is no separate covid centre for us, in which case vaccination is the only way to defeat infection. I contacted the health department, after which he said he would be happy to help us. It was only on May 13 that we contacted the Directorate of Health Services and were vaccinated on May 14.
There are 125 transgenders living in the shelter home and 40 of them were vaccinated on the first day. Documents and identity proofs were a problem for many, with which he said it would be resolved soon. The second drive will be run next week, where more and more people are expected to be vaccinated. According to the 2011 census, 11374 transgenders live in Assam.
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