In numbers: Fewer women getting vaccines in comparison to men

It is known that India has a skewed sex ratio (943 females/1,000 men), but does this gender distortion reflect on India’s vaccination campaign as well? Numbers of the country’s vaccination drive so far suggest it’s true and happening.

For every 1,000 men who got the jabs in the country, only 854 women have received the vaccine.

Chhattisgarh and Kerala stand out among all others with more women getting the vaccine here than men. No wonder both states have an improved gender ratio (more women population than men’s).

Kerala has 1,126 women for 1,000 men while Chhattisgarh has 1,013 women for every 1,000 men. However, Chhattisgarh (1,045 women for every 1,000 men) has done better than Kerala (1,087 women for every 1,000 men) when it comes to vaccinating the fairer sex.

Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are exceptions in the sense that both states have skewed sex ratios, but when it comes to vaccination, 50% of the vaccine takers are women.

States like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab prove the theory that skewed sex ratio means skewed vaccination numbers as well. Uttar Pradesh’s sex ratio is 936, but only 746 women per 1,000 women have received the jab so far. In Bihar, it is 810 (sex ratio 923). It is possible the statistics may improve because just over 12% of the population in the above two states has been vaccinated so far.

In Delhi, vaccination coverage so far is a healthy 42%, but only 720 women for every 1,000 men have got the shots. This could be because of the presence of a large number of migrant labours, mostly men.

About 30% of Jammu and Kashmir’s population has received the jab, but only 711 women for every 1,000 men have been inoculated. The Union Territory’s sex ratio is 913/1000. The disparity in vaccination could be attributed to the presence of large number of security forces.

Also read: Vaccine for all by December-end: Take a look at what the data says

Experts say that inability of women in many cases to register themselves on the CoWin app and move out of the house independently could be the reasons why more men have benefitted from the nationwide vaccination drive that was launched on January 16 this year.