Suraj wrote:It is a fair argument that those with comorbidities over 16 (the defined adult age for which vaccines are authorized) can get vaccines. But let me explain why I think the govt has balked at this:
During phase 1 (Jan 16-feb 28) the government noticed that the registered HCW/FLW database suddenly started growing almost 30%. At that point they stopped further registration of HCWs/FLWs. The problem was fraudulent registration to get vaccines. The numbers were small enough (a few million extra) that it wasn’t a real impact. It was still multiple days worth of extra vaccines used up on people who may or may not be legit HCW/FLW.
I believe the govt fears being swamped by young folks alleging comorbidities using spurious qualifications. Due to health being a state imperative it has no direct way to ensure there isn’t rampant misuse. Age based criteria are much easier to validate in this regard, and comorbidities over 45 are also an easier case to accept. Right now the eligibility is entirely age based.
This isn’t an attempt to be heartless about the matter, and I’m certainly not arguing that the young at risk folks should be left behind. Hell, at one time in my youth I was high risk. However I suggest putting the indignation aside and consider how to craft this request in a well considered manner where validation is easy, and risk of fraud minimized. I would be more than happy to help propagate a good idea using Twitter, given I’ve recently been able to make my detailed analyses heard within govt circles.
Suraj-san, the indignation is due to trying to get heard for more than a month. It's actually close to two months now, come to think of it. When govt handles reply to some very frivolous requests here and there, detailed messages (tweets, grievances on PGPortal, etc.) don't seem to get through. My original submissions were detailed and backed with data where possible - thanks to you, I even got the document that estimated the population size at 1cr (I replied to you on twitter about this). Shared that as well. Total silence, what else can I do? I know the terror of having my family member spending 4-5 hours in a hospital 2-3 times a week and sky falling if either of us catch the damn thing. So, at some point, patience does wear thin.
Your point about preventing fraud is valid and perhaps the way forward, but I don't have a solution as of yet. Let me think about it some more. Evaluating co-morbidities is a subjective thing, and not everyone with co-morbidities should actually take the vaccine. So I guess the only option would be that a doctor's certificate can be insisted upon, but again, how to validate that becomes the q.