KOCHI: Though the registration for the third phase of Covid-19 vaccination for people aged above 60 began on Monday, software glitches continue to play spoilsport even on the third day into the process. Many senior citizens who have been trying to register for the vaccine are not being allotted slots due to technical issues in the Cowin portal, which was launched on Monday.
“We have been trying to register my father for vaccination since day one, but we are yet to get a slot. Later, the website itself was down. My father is 65 years old and has comorbidities including high blood pressure and diabetes. He had been under reverse quarantine for a long time and we were hoping that vaccination could bring him some relief,” said Anju Madhavan, a resident of Kochi.
The state government has listed 39 private hospitals in Ernakulam to facilitate vaccination. Meanwhile, priority is being given to the vaccination of polling officers involved in elections. Nearly 35,000 polling officers have been listed for the jab. “The vaccination for all those involved in election duty will be completed before Saturday. However, this has got nothing to do with the vaccination of senior citizens. All arrangements have been facilitated in both government and private hospitals.
The current problem is due to technical issues, which will take some time to resolve. Even during the initial phase of the vaccination for health workers, such difficulties had arisen. It went smoothly later,” said a district health official.
At the same time, there have also been instances wherein private hospitals seemed to have no clue about the procedure or criteria for vaccination. “When I called up one hospital on the list, officials there said that they had not received any intimation from government officials on the matter,” said Prasad V, a resident of Angamaly.