Confusion, server glitches…more confusion, failure to obtain OTP…some more confusion: these have been just some of the challenges Indians faced today, as the central government officially kickstarted country’s biggest vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus. To be totally fair, server glitches due to peak rise in website traffic at about 4PM (as per government’s personal record) have been anticipated. And in its defence, the government also managed to repair these troubles in time (once again, as per its personal record). But the true concern, that most Indians have been in all probability not expecting to deal with in the middle of this life and death scenario, was confusion.
Cowin Portal is working. There was a minor glitch at 4 PM that was fixed. 18 plus can register. pic.twitter.com/c94fpoURcT
— Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) April 28, 2021
But as it turned out, confusion trumped almost everything else ahead of D-day – from the get-go. The government initially had announced that it would open registrations for every person above the age of 18 from April 28. Since that is a big quantity, all this would come about on-line only (which meant no stroll-ins have been permitted) on the CoWin net portal and by means of the Aarogya Setu and UMANG mobile apps. Curiously, a time was not talked about which led several to (rightly) think registrations would commence midnight. Only, they did not.
It was only on the morning of April 28, the government confirmed that registrations would start from 4PM.
Registration for 18 plus to start on https://t.co/S3pUooMbXX, Aarogya Setu App & UMANG App at 4 PM on 28th April. Appointments at State Govt centers & Private centers based on how several vaccination centers are prepared on 1st May for Vaccination of 18 plus. #LargestVaccineDrive
— Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) April 28, 2021
Should have announced earlier, persons have been waiting from 00:00 am.
Anyways get prepared, web-site and app will get crashed btw.— Mridul Nigam (@MridulNigam) April 28, 2021
At 4PM, as Indians began to cue up on-line to register, the server crashed. The CoWin net portal became inaccessible and even when it did come on-line, the expertise remained choppy at greatest. One of the most popular technical concern was failure to create OTP.
| Coronavirus in India Live News
But even as Indians jumped by way of these hoops to register – and several effectively did – they began to get acquainted with other quirks. Things that have been not communicated in advance. It came to light that even even though anyone above the age of 18 could register for a COVID jab, appointments for vaccination (as and when that occurs immediately after May 1) have been restricted to these above the age of 45 and as a result the complete pitch of government’s biggest vaccination drive (for 18 and above) became sort of misleading.
Registered now. No slots accessible. This Cowin is like tinder…sure you can sign up…the rest of it is in somebody else’s hands.
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) April 28, 2021
The reality that “vaccination appointments for 18 plus will be possible once the state governments and private vaccination centres schedule vaccination sessions,” was communicated only immediately after registrations had began.
More than 35 lakhs persons registered in the very first hour immediately after launch of 18 plus registration on https://t.co/S3pUooMbXX. Appointments for 18-44 will be accessible when State Govts and Private Vaccination Centers schedule sessions.
— Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) April 28, 2021
Even for these above the age of 45, appointment may well be topic to availability of vaccines.
“We will continue to announce as and when States come on board. We will provide information in public. The advice to people is that you log in and get an appointment only when you see vacancies available. The app will display the prices given by different entities. The platform will display which hospital is offering which vaccine and at what price. For private facilities, the type and price of the vaccines will be visible,” R S Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
When will 18+ get vaccinated:
You: I got registered but no slots
Centre: We registered you. Over to states & pvt hospitals to make a decision slots
States: How to give slots?Don’t have vaccines. Over to vaccine makers
Vaccine Makers: Need more cash to ramp up. Over to Centre
You: ☠️
— Tejas Mehta (@itejasmehta) April 28, 2021
Even even though some states have complained about vaccine shortages, the government has stated more than 1 crore doses have been accessible with the states and that yet another 86 lakh doses would be made accessible in the next 3 days. States like Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan have hinted they may well not commence their vaccination programme from May 1.