Outside a government school in Shahdara, people queued up to take their first shot of COVID-19 vaccine. While most of them went home satisfied, a handful returned without a jab as their names didn’t find a mention in the list at the centre.
A 36-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said that he had registered on Monday and got an appointment for Wednesday 9am-11am slot but when he got his details verified, the Civil Defence Volunteers couldn’t find his name in the register. “I have been asked to reschedule and come back. I have stepped out today [Wednesday] and it was scary enough. What is my fault if their system is not working properly?” he said.
Recurring incident
A senior nursing staffer monitoring at the school, on condition of anonymity, said that at least eight to ten such cases have been coming every day since 18-44 age group started getting vaccinated. “They are then asked to reschedule. We have flagged it but it is not getting solved. If they allow over the counter registration then people won’t face this problem,” he said.
At the school, those who had opted for 9am-11am slot and had reached around 8.15 a.m. to prevent a long queue had to wait for over an hour till the vaccination arrived around 9.20 a.m. Subsequently, the waiting period reduced to 15-20 minutes before a set of 20 people at a time was called inside the school to start the process. First, their identities were verified with the names on the list. Afterwards, they were given a chit and asked to proceed towards the vaccination room.
Inside the vaccination room where a Civil Defence Volunteer confirmed if the person has had breakfast and updated information in the system. A few were sent back to eat as they said they didn’t have breakfast.
After the vaccination, people were asked to sit on classroom chairs, which were laid out in the open. However, no one checked whether people were completing half an hour observation time.
Satisfied with process
Talking about the process, Gauri Sharma (19) said she was “extremely satisfied” and that everyone should get vaccinated. “It is so important right now. No one should wait or hesitate,” she said.
Rubiya Khan (29), who was also happy with the process, said that people shouldn’t compare the two vaccines. “There should be no doubt on getting vaccinated. Even I’ve read up on the two vaccines before getting the jab but we should all get the vaccine that is available,” she said.
Raman Arora (39) said that the situation is so dangerous that “vaccination seems to be the only good thing that is going for us”.