Last month, I took my kids on an African safari in Kenya where we had the time of our lives. Who can imagine the beauty of the nature at her finest. We saw the Big 5 (buffalo, elephant, lion, rhinoceros, and leopard) and even had a friendly encounter with a giraffe. At ~17 feet tall, you realize how insignificant you become pretty quick.
Though Kenya was truly an epic adventure, the adventure began as I didn’t realize vaccination requirements – not to enter Kenya but to re-enter India! India requires individuals coming from Kenya to be vaccinated against Dengue Fever/Yellow Fever. With less than a week to our departure, I was worried not about the shots but the fact I needed to go to an Indian government-run hospital to obtain the vaccination certificate for the family.
The Adventure Begins
Calling the medical center for additional details was of no use. No one answered or the phone number listed on the website was incorrect. Either way, the only way to get answers was to travel to the center. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a guard and administrator who promptly told me that they were done for the day (at 2 PM) and to come back at 8:30 AM on the next day for registration followed by vaccination starting at 10 AM. I prepped the kids for the upcoming day (e.g. no complaining) and proceeded to show up the next morning to find a long line already formed. It turns out that at 8:30 AM, the line forms to sequentially register at 10 AM with vaccinations beginning at 11 AM. This begs a lot of questions that begin with why… If I asked why, I would go crazy so I stopped asking why in India which my local friends confirmed is the only way to survive in India’s bureaucracy.
Waiting
It’s a good thing we were #29, 30, and 31 since we were able to sit down on some cushioned chairs. The rest were standing and wandering in and out. Luckily there was a “line officer” keeping track of the sequential order or it would have been Armageddon. At 10, the registration begins where we had to fill out a paper ledger – name, passport number, birth date, etc. No such thing as electronic registration prior. One person to write the info, one person to collect money, and one other to keep an eye of what’s going on…I’m just happy to register at this point as I know we will get vaccinated sometime that day…
Shots!
At 11 AM, a queue was formed to take the first 30 patients for vaccinations. As luck would have it, my son is #31. Thankfully, the officials counted him as 30 ½ and let him come up. We go up a set a stairs to another waiting room and proceed to fill out an Indian vaccination form. They didn’t trust us to register but trust us to fill out the vaccination certification… Ladies were called first in assembly line fashion. Then the men. Like a car assembly plant, we walked up to the doctor, raised our sleeve, cleaned the arm, and then got stuck – the most efficient process of the day (15 in about a min).
Aftermath
So after almost 4 hours and wondering what was going on most of the time, we got our vaccination certificates and can be allowed to re-enter India from our safari. The irony? The only time we were asked to present vaccination proof was at the Kenyan Airline counter as we were leaving Kenya. India immigration didn’t even ask…big sigh…
What did I learn?
• There is no sense of urgency to create an efficient system – patients are stuck to the whims of bureaucracy.
• Patience is really a virtue.
• Equality – It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, the system treats everybody equally. Note: There is LOTS of room for improvement.
• After currency conversion, the cost of the vaccination was $5 per shot. Hmmm…maybe Government run hospitals are a good idea.
• After enduring 4 hours for a vaccination that should take no more than 30 min (from entry to exit), I think not.