Families desperate to find vaccine slots for house-helps

Private hospitals emerge as viable but costly option

The race to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has moved to a more desperate phase as families hunt for slots to get house-helps, attenders, and drivers vaccinated. With limited slots available in the 18-45 age group at camps organised by the government, large drives by private hospitals have emerged as a more viable option. “In urban health centres, no slots are available and most of them are conducting vaccination for the 45+ age group. I helped book a slot for my neighbour’s house-help. Her employer paid ₹1,000 for it. We had to find a nearby centre,” says Sanjay Chowdhury, who lives in Anand Bagh Colony. If the vaccination camp organised by one hospital was at an international school in Gandipet, another hospital organised a camp with similar pricing at a function hall in Secunderabad.