Got a first jab yesterday. Covishield (the Indian version of Astra Zeneca). Thought I should give an update to NRIs and those interested.
Firstly I am in Bombay which had dealt with the the decent 2nd wave much better than other major Indian cities, so I can't comment on those.
It's easy for those 45+ to log onto the website and get a jab - there are enough slots. It is the 18-44 range where the slots get filled real fast. There are limited centers catering to that age range. I managed to get a slot pretty far away from where I stay. In a suburb called Goregaon.
I wanted Covaxin but only Covishield was available at that center - so here begins the process
1. Double masked and with a face shield to boot, I picked up a friend who had also managed to get a slot at that center.
2. Google Maps showed 25 mins to the destination - usually if not for the lockdown this usually takes 90 minutes.
3. On route, cops had set up several barricades which slowed the traffic down. In a cab in front of us, it seemed a bunch of villagers were heading home. There is a limit in place on the number of people allowed in private vehicles and cabs. This number was greater so before reaching the check point, some villagers got off on a flyover (bridge) and began walking to beyond the check point. I didn't know whether to point it out to the cop on duty or not, but I didn't.
4. There is a lot of parking space at the center but the guards weren't allowing cars inside.
5. There were some cars parked outside but the sign was of "No Parking" with a fine of Rs. 23000 (about 400 USD). I asked a traffic cop stationed there and he said, I could park there and they weren't enforcing the no parking zone during the lockdown.
6. There were multiple centers within the center and I was told to go to Zone 11.
7. My friend was ahead of me in the queue and she asked a lady checking IDs if there was a separate queue for women. (There was not)
8. Once inside in Zone 11, there were again multiple zones. We were directed to Area 8 and asked to wait in queue - we were 11th and 12th in the queue.
9. Our registration was checked again finally we were given the jab. The lady giving the jab asked us if we wanted photos taken for Instagram while we got the jab. Haha, that was a bit surreal. I asked her if getting Covaxin was an option and she said "Not today".
10. We were asked to wait in the post jab section for about 30 minutes. A doc told us that if we have an any reaction to contact the nearest hospital and fatigue would be expected and we can take a heavy dose of paracetamol
11. All in all, we were done. The entire process took 1.5 hours once we entered the center. Most of it was walking around to find the right location. We were in the queue totally for about 20 minutes and then in the post jab section for the required 30 mins.
12. Immediately after the dose got an SMS from the Govt. that the first dose was received and second dose was due after 28 days. The PDF certificate of first dose could be downloaded and had the smiling face of Modi with his flowing beard.
13. Just got some minor pain the arm after receiving the dose.
All in all, it was pretty well organized. All people were masked and double masked. A lot weren't maintaining the 6 feet requisite distance especially the older people. Looking forward to the 2nd dose.
