BENGALURU: The Union Health Ministry has now allowed hospitals to extend or advance the vaccination schedule any day and one does not have to stick to a fixed schedule to get inoculated. This means that hospitals can now vaccinate people 24x7 at their convenience. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday took to Twitter and said, “The government has removed time constraints to increase the speed of vaccination. Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the value of both time and health of citizens,” he tweeted.
Since all hospitals, both private and government, are linked to the government’s CoWIN app and website, the flexible schedule allowed by the government is applicable to both.Meanwhile, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday said the timeline of vaccinating beneficiaries from 9 am to 5 pm has been done away with and it is up to the hospitals to decide whether they want to continue administering vaccines even after that.
However, people who have been waiting for hours at hospitals across the state said, “Glitches on CoWIN app are yet to be rectified. Hospitals also need to coordinate well and ensure that we are not made to wait. What’s the use of making it 24x7 when the hospital staff is not ready and the portal won’t permit you to register?” asked Dharmendra Kumar, a 53-year-old teacher, who has been trying to register himself and his father, on the app.