GLITCHES PERSIST ON COWIN APP; RESIDENTS GET SLOTS BEYOND OFFICIAL TIMINGS

Despite repeated complaints of glitches on the COWIN app, many are still not able to book slots for vaccination against Covid-19 in the Gautam Budh Nagar district. While at times the app shows slots available after 9pm, it often confuses the applicants with slots available only on Sunday. GB Nagar doesn’t offer vaccination past 8pm or on Sunday.

Forty-eight-year-old Dipesh Kumar, who works in a private firm in Sector 63, took the first jab of Covaxin on April 19. “Searching for slots on COWIN is cumbersome – where fresh slots get booked within seconds. For the last four days, I spent three-four hours every day trying to book a slot. Surprisingly, I got a slot Wednesday, which was for 9pm-11pm, at the centre at Fr Agnel school. However, by the time I could have opted for it, the slot vanished,” he said.

Vaccination for the 18-44 age group age group was started on May 10 in the district, directed for by the state government.

Shubham Kumar, who works in a multinational firm in Sector 62, said: “I have been trying to book an appointment since May 10. The process is not limited to getting the shot – one has to deal with frustration as well that comes with finding a centre. The moment you hit ‘confirm’, the app displays a message that the centre is fully booked,” he said.

Ragini Singh, a 32-year-old homemaker from Sector 76, concurred.

“It is like playing the lottery. After three days of searching, I managed to book a slot in a health centres, which is seven kilometres from home,” she said.

When contacted, Gautam Budh Nagar chief medical officer, Dr Deepak Ohri, claimed that most of the glitches in the portal have been rectified and that vaccination is taking place in the district at full pace. “It is likely that one may get a slot during off-hours or on Sunday. However, this will also be corrected within a day or two,” he said.