Covid-19: Why India needs to vaccinate undocumented immigrants, refugees

For humanitarian reasons and to keep the rest of the population safe, India cannot afford to leave refugees and undocumented immigrants out of the Covid-19 vaccination drive

Riyaz*, a Rohingya refugee who lives in a crowded camp in Delhi along with nearly 300 others, is desperate to get himself vaccinated against COVID-19. But India's ongoing vaccination drive is only open to its own citizens or those with any of the 11 identity documents specified by the government.

All that Riyaz and the others in the camp have are the refugee cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "A few of us tried to get vaccinated but we were asked for Aadhaar cards," he told IndiaSpend. The lack of an Aadhaar card also means