As a second wave of Covid-19 cases sweeps India, some poor city workers are shunning vaccination because they fear losing a day’s pay to get the jab or possible side effects that could force them to skip work for longer.

Authorities are scrambling to open vaccination centres in the slums, but uptake has been slower than expected — exposing deep inequalities in healthcare access and high rates of vaccine hesitancy, campaigners said.

Lakshmi, a domestic worker, said she and her security guard husband had decided not to take their elderly parents to get their vaccine shots because they could not afford to take time off work to escort them and care for them afterwards, if needed.

“I have no idea about where and how to get the vaccine in any case,” said Lakshmi.

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