On-site walk-in registrations for COVID-19 vaccines have gained a good response among senior citizens. A majority of those getting vaccinated in government hospitals in the city are walk-in registrations with the entire process of registration, vaccination and observation being completed in an hour, according to healthcare officials and hospital authorities.
Vaccination for senior citizens and those in the age group of 45 to 59 years with comorbidites began on March 1.
In addition to the self-registration on CoWIN 2.0 app, the Health Department made arrangements for on-site walk-in registrations too.
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“There has been a good response for walk-in registrations. All vaccine centres have walk-in registration facilities. People need to come with an identity card and can get vaccinated in an hour,” an official of the Health Department said.
80% in RGGGH
Nearly 80% of persons, who received the vaccines at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), were walk-in registrations, dean E. Theranirajan said.
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On the first day of opening up vaccination for the two categories, the RGGGH vaccinated nearly 350 persons followed by 200 on Tuesday.
“Many senior citizens are approaching the hospital directly for the vaccination. We have teams to register them at the Rheumatology block. It takes five to 10 minutes to enrol them. They can choose between Covishield and Covaxin, and are directed to the centre accordingly. Soon after receiving the shot, they are observed for 30 minutes. The entire process tsakes about one hour.”
Hospital authorities pinpointed that while some of the elderly had difficulty registering on the Co-WIN app, others said they experienced technical glitches preventing them from registering.
“Once they walk in, we do the registration for them. Nearly 80% of them are senior citizens, and 20% are persons with comorbidities. During interactions with the elderly, we found that many were keen to protect themselves from COVID-19,” P. Balaji, dean of the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, said.
The hospital put up posters near the diabetes, asthma and hypertension clinics so that patients are aware of the vaccination programme.
Second vaccine site
The Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital, which has set up a second vaccine site, also received good response. “About 80% to 90% are walk-in registrations. We covered 250 persons on Tuesday and reached 180 on Wednesday noon,” R. Jayanthoi, hospital dean, noted.
P. Vasanthamani, dean of the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, said they helped many who had directly approached the hospital to register on the app. “Our staff guided them through registration after the beneficiaries received the OTP,” she added.