The Totos of India: Socioeconomic and Demographic Structure of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribe

Abstract

Background: Indigenous populations are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the macroeconomic population. Due to poor social connections, the level of education, socioeconomic advancement, and sickness risk of the tribal population of India were affected. Thus, indigenous cultures are more susceptible to COVID-19. The present research aims to explore the population structure, socio-economic condition, and COVID-19 vaccination status among the Toto population of Alipurduar, West Bengal. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design to collect household data among the Totos (PVTG), a vanishing sub-Himalayan population. The entire Toto community, comprising 294 households with 1374 individuals, was covered in Totopara. Data were collected through a pre-tested, semi-structured schedule and analyzed using Stata 14. Results: Demographic analysis has revealed a sharp decline in the sex ratio and decadal growth rate compared to the 2011 census. From the multiple logistic regression, it has been found that unmarried people were less likely to get fully vaccinated compared to married individuals. The employed population was 1.97 times more fully vaccinated compared to unemployed individuals. Similarly, smartphone non-users were less likely to get fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated compared to those individuals who do possess smartphones (p<0.001). Conclusion: Therefore, inactive government initiatives, low fertility, a lack of community involvement, and the policy inactivity of local institutions are the main causes of negative decadal growth. It is believed that participatory implementation is essential to improving awareness of neglect as well as the acceptance rate of public health care services.