The Covid-19 vaccination drive never really took off on a smooth note. Initially, on the day of registration the site crashed for a few hours, after which due to unavailability of doses, the drive didn't begin on May 1 as per the schedule.
Of late, CoWin app has not been reflecting the true slots as well. In several recent instances, those allotted the first dose on CoWin app were denied at the government Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC) in bengaluru citing no Covaxin supply.
Mismatch between UPHC vaccination & CoWin slots
On Friday, vaccine candidates who landed up at UPHC Pulikeshi Nagar in Bengaluru to get first doses as scheduled by the Cowin app were denied vaccination. Citing no Covaxin supply, the centre authorities sent them back. The candidate had booked a slot for the first dose of Covaxin but was sent back since there was no supply of Covaxin.
Not the first CoWin glitch
This is not the first instance where even a booked slot on the app does not guarantee that the vaccine will actually be administered. Several users have faced similar situation, where after multiple attempts of booking, when a slot is finally scheduled, the candidates are sent back without being given any dose.
"There is a shortage of Covaxin, but not Covishield. We inform the PHC beforehand if there is no stock, so they can put up a board to inform citizens. The slots are pre-booked on Cowin. So, on the day of vaccination, the status of the stock may be different. There is no option on CoWin to put any disclaimer," BBMP Health Commissioner Rajendra Cholan was quoted by the NewIndian Express as saying.
Even after several weeks since the problem was first reported, it has still not been fixed. It's not just the effort of logging in multiple times to finally get the slot, it's the inconvenience of getting to the centres and waiting and then being denied the doses. "We have come from 40 kms away and we have been denied the vaccine though we have confirmed the booking on CoWin app," wrote a user citing inconvenience.
