Bhubaneswar: Special Camp For COVID-19 Vaccination Of Transgender People Organised

Transgender people vaccinated in Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) launched a special vaccination camp for transgender people living and earning in the city. "We've arranged a special camp for transgenders. As of today, there're around 500 transgenders in Bhubaneswar," said Zonal Deputy Commissioner (South-East) Anshuman Rath.

According to Rath that the first jab was given to even those who could not show an identity card. Ragni Das, one of the transgender people who received the jab says that the community thanked the BMC for providing the vaccines to them and "treating us like a normal human being".

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) launches vaccination drive for transgenders

We're thankful to BMC for providing the #COVID19 vaccine to us and treating us like a normal human being, says Ragni Das pic.twitter.com/jHSrTeuAnc

— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2021

We're thankful to BMC for providing the COVID-19 vaccine to us and treating us like a normal human being, says one of the transgender people who received the jab: Ragni Das

In Odisha, the BMC has already started vaccination drive on wheels on a pilot basis for people aged above 45.

Last month, when the COVID-19 crisis posed threat to the people of the state, many transgender people came forward to fight the battle, serving as frontline workers. “I came across people’s sufferings and wanted to work with the administration to mitigate them,” 31-year-old Princess, the first transgender frontline worker of Rourkela said, The New Indian Express reported. Princess is a diploma holder in Computer Applications. She joined the COVID-19 care centre at Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) campus in Rourkela as a data operator on a contractual basis. She also coordinated with nurses and doctors to ensure patients were treated at the earliest.

Last month, the Centre had asked states to ensure that there was no discrimination against transgender community at vaccination centres. The central government had also announced one-time financial assistance worth Rs 1,500 for the community to be availed by those who have been affected adversely by the second wave of the pandemic, also directing state governments to organise separate mobile vaccination centres or booths for them. Read more on that here.

Meanwhile, Odisha reported fresh 4,339 COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the tally to 8,56,121.

Feature Image Credit: ANI