International travellers’ frustration rises over vax rules

Noida: Murtuza Ali, originally from Bisrakh, works in Muscat and has been struggling to get a vaccine slot for his wife. “She needs to get the second dose of the Covid vaccine. The 28-day period has already elapsed. She has all her documents, including the resident visa issued by Oman, in place but we are unable to book a slot.”
Like Ali’s wife, many international travellers seeking Covid vaccine in Noida and Greater Noida are struggling on a daily basis as no clarity is being offered to them.
Ali, over a chat, said: “We tried to register on the Co-WIN app but in vain. On Monday, my relative visited the community health centre in Bisrakh. The health staffers said they cannot help us and we will have to visit the chief medical officer’s office in Sector 39.”
In the absence of any guideline or clarity available on the website of the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration or the health department portal of the Uttar Pradesh government, many like Ali are spending their days anxiously.
Nishikant Mishra, a resident of Sector 78, needs to fly to Canada to pursue higher studies. “Private hospitals are not offering the vaccine to international travellers in the city as they are not authorised. Only the CMO’s office can register such individuals on the Co-WIN portal after verifying the documents. However, the process is extremely tedious even after getting the registration done,” said Mishra, who took the jab on July 23 and added that it took four hours to complete all the formalities.
After getting the registration done, the person seeking the dose has to go to the district hospital in Sector 30 to get the jab. Following this, the final entry on the mobile application is done at the CMO office again to update the status of the individual.
Chief medical officer of Gautam Budh Nagar, Sunil Sharma said, “The district immunisation officer is supervising the entire programme. A visit to the office is required to verify the documents. Also, the recipients must mention the purpose of the visit to the international destination. That is the mandate given by the Union government. Following all of this, the person is vaccinated.”
The officer added that all such requests are dealt with at the Sector 39 office and the community health centres are not authorised to vaccinate such travellers. “It is a procedural issue and hence some time is required to finish all the formalities,” added a health department official.