Covid-19 Vaccine and Accessibility Issues Faced by People in Greater Mumbai
Author: Prof. Dr. Moushumi Datta
Abstract:
In India, the citizens who received vaccination had to travel a long way to get vaccinated due to uneven distribution. The present paper aims to analyse the accessibility of vaccination centres in the study area, to overcome any shortcomings for future emergencies in the study area and to analyse how prompt the medical system in the study area is during the times of emergencies. The study is based on a systematic research methodology which includes secondary data for compiling review of literature from various sources and primary data which is collected with the help of a close ended questionnaire prepared in Google Forms using survey method. The total sample size is 993 randomly selected respondents across the city of Greater Mumbai. The data has been processed using MS Excel and analysed using IBM SPSS software. The maps have been prepared using QGIS for spatial analysis. The findings point out that 49.76% of the respondents have had difficulty in accessing a vaccination centre due to unavailability of slots while booking it digitally, whereas only 85.92% of them have been able to access the slots booked in time while others could not and struggled again to book new slots. 39.08% of the respondents found it difficult to reach the vaccination centres owing to the distance, cost and lack of navigation skills. It is therefore recommended that healthcare infrastructure be strengthened and disparity be reduced with geospatial planning. The study concludes by stating that with the changing climate, diseases are also changing and increasing, hence it is important to be prepared for the worst of the situations in future.
Keywords: Covid-19, Vaccination, Disparity, Inaccessibility, Preparedness