While the nation grapples with the second wave of Covid-19, there is another kind of struggle that Mumbaikars face on a daily basis. Ever since the vaccination drive has been opened for the 18+ age category, several people have been trying for days to book a slot via the CoWin site and been unsuccessful.
With just 500 daily slots available at each centre, the struggle to book a slot is real and the chances of securing one depends entirely on how quick you are and an abundance of luck. The Free Press Journal caught up with one such lucky Mumbaikar, who was able to secure a slot on her first attempt.
How long did it take you to register on CoWin and get a slot?
To be honest, I made an earnest attempt to get the slot only once i.e. last evening and got lucky to have got the slot for my first vaccine shot for today. I had, however, registered my partner and myself about 7-10 days back (you can register up to four people from one number) when registrations for the 18-44-age category were rolled out on the COWIN site/app. A quick note for those who are not familiar with this: you have to first register yourself through the website cowin.gov.in and then log in using the app, which can be downloaded from any app store. For registration, you will need to provide your phone number and details of any one government ID such as passport, PAN card, Aadhar card, etc. The only way to log in is using the OTP method, and although the app gives you the option of logging in using a password, I saw no way of setting a password on the site.
Did you feel frustrated with the process at any given point of time?
Since registering on the site, I had tried logging in a few times to understand the process and given up because no slot ever seemed to be open or available. Also, the COWIN site often failed to send an OTP on time and the session would time out. I figured that using the Aarogya Setu app to register for vaccines was much better – at least the OTPs come through. But registering is easy; the real “jackpot” is actually getting a slot. I also learnt that it is highly unlikely to find any vaccination centre listing if one uses their area pin code as search criteria. Use the state and district classification.
After reading user experiences on Twitter for a few days did I realise how BMC opens registrations in short windows every day and how one must combine elements of information, access, a fast internet connection and luck to actually get a slot. Yesterday, my partner and I sat hawk-eyed for BMC’s tweet about the timing, and once we figured the window (“shortly after 8pm their tweet read), we sat with our phones simultaneously trying to book slots. It worked for one of us.
Did you have any apprehensions about getting the vaccine, given the plethora of false alarms on Social media?
None, whatsoever. I am a firm believer in the science of vaccination and have been very sure about getting it the moment I could. Following some credible medical professionals on Twitter such as (Dr.) @faheemyounus has helped tremendously to maintain the right perspectives.
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