BENGALURU: Chaos, anger, confusion, crowd... This was the scene at some Covid-19 vaccination centres in Bengaluru on day 1 of Phase-3 of the drive, meant for those above 60 and aged between 45 and 59 with comorbidities. For administrators, the CoWIN portal not opening and not showing the list of registered beneficiaries was the biggest obstacle on Monday.
The 68-year-old Satyanatha Krishnappa, who has diabetes, wanted to be the first to get vaccinated when he heard the news of Phase-3. He went to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, but was redirected to Vani Vilas Hospital. After finding his way to the vaccination block, he was made to sit for an hour as the staff were waiting for the green signal from higher-ups.
“Then, I took my son’s help to register on CoWIN portal for vaccination at Mallige Hospital. They asked me to give my phone number and leave, as they were not prepared. I came to KC General Hospital where they asked me to wait again. The health administration has failed. They should not have started it on March 1 if they were not prepared. They should not make senior citizens run around in the hot sun,” Satyanatha said, adding that he had to walk around 9 km through this ordeal.
Dr M S Anand, a dental surgeon with diabetes and blood pressure, registered online for the vaccination. However, he was made to wait from 9 am to 1 pm to get the shot at KC General Hospital. At CV Raman General Hospital, around 10 people turned up, but left without getting vaccinated as the process never took off.