Indian migrant workers at risk of being left out of vaccine drive

Activists and experts say workers whose livelihoods have been hit by lockdowns should be prioritised for vaccination.

New Delhi, India – In the past year, Jagdev Pandey has lived three lives. Last summer, the 37-year-old migrant worker lived in a one-room rented house in a working-class neighbourhood in the eastern part of India’s capital, New Delhi. He had a stable marketing job with a company manufacturing aluminium foil paper. In July, during the monsoons, the company shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide lockdown imposed to check the virus.