In search of the elusive COVID19 vaccine
It may not be just fear or lack of access that is causing aversion in rural India to the COVID-19 vaccine. The entire process of getting vaccinated is fraught with chaos, mismanagement and frustration, a Gaon Connection reporter discovered as he took himself off to a Community Health Centre in Uttar Pradesh, to be inoculated.
The Community Health Centre at Mauaima in Prayagraj district, Uttar Pradesh. All photos: Divendra Singh
Mauaima (Prayagraj), UP
Every conversation in the country invariably turns to the topic of the COVID19 vaccines. “Have you had your first dose? Have you had your second dose? Did you manage to find a slot…”
As Gaon Connection travelled and reported from across the country, it became apparent that many were not getting vaccinated. It was either because there was fear of the vaccine, there was no access to it, or simply that it was impossible to find an available slot to be vaccinated.
Ever since May 1, when the slots opened up for people between 18 and 44 years to be vaccinated, I have been trying to find a slot, unsuccessfully. When I did not get a slot in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, where I was, I heard that slots were available at Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad).
I at last found a slot on May 24 and presented myself at the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Mauaima in Prayagraj district, 65 kilometres away from Pratapgarh. I had chosen the slot between 10 am and 11 am. I reached the CHC at 9.30 am. At 10 am, we were told the vaccination would begin at 10.30 am.
An endless wait
By 10.30 am, there was a considerable crowd at the CHC. I learnt booking a slot was not necessarily going to guarantee me a shot. The CHC staff already had lists of 300 names that they would call in batches. Only those whose names were called out would get their vaccinations.
It got increasingly more crowded and louder and there was no semblance of any physical distancing and very few actually were masked. I waited patiently and by 12.30 pm of the 300 names called in to be vaccinated, I was not one of them.
I waited for the next 300 names to be called, I was missing from that list as well. I did not figure in the third list of 300 names either.
I mustered up courage to elbow my way to the counter to check why my name was not in any of the lists despite my having booked a slot and received an acknowledgement about it. The CHC staff checked against my mobile number, found that I had indeed booked a slot and asked me to fill up a form and get in line again.
I did. But when I reached the front, they said while I did have a slot and appointment, my name did not figure in the Arogya Setu app.
Also Read: 50% drop in COVID19 vaccination in India in the past month, shows govt’s Co-WIN data
No vaccination
I was asked to wait a bit longer in the chance my name would be added into the app, but that was not to be. The CHC staff asked me to speak to the ‘head’ who in turn informed me that while I may have had a slot, I was not going to get a vaccine that day. I should return home and look for another slot.
So, I spent hours at the CHC surrounded by crowds that displayed no fear of the COVID19 pandemic and yet I ended up without getting the jab. At the vaccination centre, masks were pulled down to the chins, dangling from the neck, or not there at all. No one paid heed to the requests of the CHC staff to maintain physical distancing and wear masks.
Now I know first hand what it is like to go on a vaccination journey. Who is to blame? The Arogya Setu app, the CHC or myself?
As it is there is so much concern that people in rural India are reluctant to be vaccinated. But those who are willing have to go through this ordeal.
Meanwhile, I am surfing again, for another appointment. I may get lucky the next time. Otherwise, after squandering a few more hours at another vaccination centre, I will return home empty handed.