Co-WIN: No easy victory here, amid cancellations and server problems

Every evening for the past six days, Sneha Sedani, a 28-year-old Kandivli resident, is glued to her computer screen between 7

Every evening for the past six days, Sneha Sedani, a 28-year-old Kandivli resident, is glued to her computer screen between 7.30pm and 8pm, attempting to register for her Covid-19 vaccine shot on the Co-WIN portal. However, she has still not secured an appointment.

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Since May 1, when Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) began vaccinating citizens in the age group of 18 – 44 years, every evening its Twitter handle announces the time registration window. With few slots to fill per day, only those citizens who manage to register themselves in the short duration of 20-25 minutes before all slots are reserved, can get vaccinated the next day.

On Thursday, BMC suspended walk-in vaccination for all age categories, to avoid overcrowding at vaccination centres. Now, citizens above age 45 years also have to book a slot on the previous evening and get an appointment for the next day.

Mumbaiites are reporting frustrating failed attempts during the registration process, last-minute cancellations of appointments, and server problems. Sedani said, “I get automatically logged out within minutes of logging into the application. Then I have to repeat the procedure. By the time I reach the end of the process after the second or third attempt, all slots are taken.”

“Sometimes, registration starts two or three minutes before the time announced by BMC on Twitter. So we constantly refresh the application to make sure we are online as soon as registration starts. Because all slots are booked right away,” Sneha added.

Sedani’s brother, Harsh, 22, was lucky in this regard. He managed to get registered on the application on his first attempt and was vaccinated at SevenHills Hospital on May 3.

Registering on the government of India’s Aarogya Setu application is equally challenging. Some citizens who have been allotted slots have been told last minute that their slots have been cancelled. Disgruntled, they have taken to social media to express their frustration.

A Twitter user, Keyur Kenia, tweeted on Friday morning with a screenshot of his confirmed appointment, “I had been to BKC vaccination centre today as I registered from Aarogya Setu app but they refused as the below appointment is not valid. Then what is the point of registering through it.”

Another Twitter user, Prasad said, “I had booked a slot for May 8 at BKC jumbo centre. Within half an hour, received a message scheduled vaccination has been cancelled. It is some kind of joke played on common man.”

Manish Keswani, 44, a resident of Borivli said, “The Co-WIN application was allowing me to book a 12.30pm slot at 2.45pm. The application is not updated on time. I have been trying to book an appointment for a while now, but I am unable to register.”

A senior civic official from BMC’s public health department said, “It is essential that citizens get an appointment for vaccination to avoid overcrowding or long queues at vaccination centres. We also don’t want senior citizens travelling long distances only to find out stock at the vaccination centre is over. So prior registration is a good solution. Due to shortage in vaccine doses, we have fewer shots available at present.”