No COVID-19 Vaccines For India's Frightened Mums-To-Be

In a country with one of the world's poorest-funded health care services, giving birth has always been fraught with risks and the devastating recent coronavirus surge has worsened the situation.

Tanya Ashnigdh is four months pregnant and frightened, one of the millions of expectant mothers excluded from India's faltering vaccination drive despite being at greater risk from Covid-19. In a country with rickety health care services, giving birth has always been fraught with risks and the devastating recent coronavirus surge has worsened the situation. Ashnigdh, 31, lives in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. Like other cities, it has been ravaged by the pandemic, and the state's decrepit public hospitals have struggled to deal with the spike in cases. She cannot get vaccinated because of government policy, with authorities citing a lack of data.