JBS Vol 23. Num 1. 2021. Article 6 - Inequality in Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

Inequality in vaccination has been perceived as a research problem in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This type of inequality has been investigated in the particular context of race, ethnicity, gender, regions in different parts of the world, with no study conducted so far in Bangladesh, an important South Asian country. We have conducted an online purposive random sampling of 311 household heads in April 2021 from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and their respective domestic or household help to examine the vaccination status across the socio-economic background, age, income, access to communication technology, and having a national identity card. Using univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate contingency table analysis, and multivariate logistic regression estimation, we find that in Dhaka, domestic or household workers above 40 years of age have mostly not taken COVID-19 vaccination at a 5% significance level. At the same time, their associated household heads are mostly vaccinated with two doses when they are above 40. Being a household head and having access to reliable communication technology are significant determinants of online registration and COVID-19 vaccination. The results have posed a question regarding the efficacy of the ongoing vaccination drive and the observed inequality or vaccine gap, primarily driven by class differences, whereas the government policy towards vaccination was intended to be universal across classes.