COVID-19 support for Wikimedians/India/FAQ

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Counselling Services

Support

What kind of support does this program provide?

The Program will support the following -

1. Reimbursement of vaccination costs
2. Sending of COVID-19 protection kits
3. Counseling by experts

I live outside India. Can I get support?

We can only provide suppprt to Wikimedians residing in India. Although we intend to support any Wikimedia volunteers in the world in distress, the truth is, we have very limited capacity and resources. There are legal constraints for registered Indian Non-Government Organizations like CIS to send support to foreign countries as per Indian law.

Will the program reimburse my medical expenses during hospitalization?

Unfortunately not.

Will the program cover my COVID-19 insurance premium?

No, for legal constraints, it was not permitted to cover COVID-19 insurance premiums.

Will the program reimburse the cost of medicines that I took to prevent or treat COVID-19?

No, reimbursing the cost of medicine is beyond the capacity of this program.

What is the criteria to get support?

Although the program intends to be as inclusive as possible and want to serve all Indian volunteers in need, but as the resource is limited and there must be people who are more vulnerable than others, some prioritization might be needed. The program will prioritize -

1. volunteers with low economical condition,
2. volunteers who reside near the epicenter,
3. aged volunteers,
4. volunteers who have elderly people at home,
5. long term volunteers,
6. very active volunteers.

I do not fit in any of the criteria. Does that mean that I will not get any support?

We intend to provide support to as many volunteers as possible, but as it is said, we will try to support the vulnerable people who fulfill the prioritization criteria first.

Can I nominate someone who is in dire need of this support?

Please do. We need your help to find the volunteer who needs the support most.

Committee

Who will make the decision to send supports to volunteers?

A committee of 5 Indian Wikimedia volunteers has been selected to decide action points, draft the steps to execute and make the decision to support volunteers. 4 of the committee members are physicians.

How much money is paid to the committee members for their service?

The committee members are doing this work for free as volunteers. They have not asked for any money for their time and service.

Who decided the criteria to prioritize the distribution?

The committee did. They had a meeting on 28 April 2021 and decided on the prioritization criteria.

How will the committee decide whom to support or whom to prioritize?

The Google sheet linked with the support form will be accessed by the committee members. Any one member of the committee will decide whom to support or prioritize. If doubt arises, the committee will consult among themselves and with community leaders.

Why any one member's vote will be considered sufficient instead of taking the majority decision from all community members?

This will make the process faster, and avoid bureaucracy as much possible.

Form

Where can I ask for the support I need?

Click here

How will it be ensured to protect the privacy of the information I have provided?

The support team ensures that the information provided by you will not be shared publicly. Raw data will only be shared with the members of COVID-19 support for Indian Wikimedia volunteers committee and CIS-A2K team members who need to process this information and fulfill the responsibilities to send you necessary support. Committee members and A2K team members will not disclose the data unless required by the law or when you give permission to do that. The raw data collected in this survey will be deleted, anonymized, or aggregated within 120 days of processing your request.

Vaccination

What are the COVID-19 vaccines available in India?

Currently there are 3 COVID-19 vaccines which are available in India

1. Covishield
2. Covaxin
3. Sputnik V

How do we register for COVID-19 vaccinations in India?

There are two ways to register for COVID-19 vaccinations in India.

1. You can do it online by self-registering in this link - https://selfregistration.cowin.gov.in/ or register using Aarogya Setu app ("Vaccination" tab)
2. You can do it at the vaccination centres on spot.

What are the documents needed to register for COVID-19 vaccination?

One of the following documents are needed to register for vaccination

1. Aadhaar card
2. Driving License
3. PAN card
4. Passport
5. Pension Passbook
6. NPR Smart Card
7. Voter ID (EPIC)

I do not have a mobile phone required for registration. How can I register then?

You can ask your friends or family members who have : mobile phone to register for you. Up to 4 people can be registered for vaccination using the same mobile number.

I am 18+ years old. Can I register for vaccination?

Yes, currently citizens of India above age 18 can register for vaccination.

I had to pay for the vaccine dose(s). How can it be reimbursed?

Please fill the form accordingly. Then send the receipt of the vaccine expenses to wmwm@cis-india.org . After initial verification, we will reimburse the money directly to your bank account.

Will you reimburse both my vaccine doses?

Yes, if you have paid for both your vaccine doses, we will be happy to reimburse for both of them.

COVID-19 kit

What will be there in the COVID-19 kit which you will be sending?

We will try to send the following items altogether in a box.

1. N-95 masks without valve. (4 Nos.)
2. Surgical masks (20 Nos.)
3. Pair of surgical gloves (4 pairs)
4. Face shield (1 No.)
5. Disinfectant spray (1 No.)
6. Hand-wash (1,500 ml) (subject to courier facility)
7. Sanitizer (500 ml)
8. Digital thermometer (1 No.) (subject to availability)
9. Pulse Oximeter (1 No.) (subject to availability)

I didn't have any Pulse Oximeter in my home, but I did not get any Pulse Oximeter from this program. Why?

We can only send something which is available in the market. The Pulse Oximeters are on high demand right now and almost not available in the market from where we are sending you. We will try to send it as soon as possible whenever it is available.

I did not get any digital thermometer from this program. Why?

We can only send something which is available in the market. The Digital thermometers are on high demand right now and almost not available in the market from where we are sending you. We will try to send it as soon as possible whenever it is available.

Packaging and courier

Who is packng the kit?

A third party vendor from Bangalore has been approached to package the kit.

Why is CIS-A2K not packing the kit?

Due to the lockdown, CIS-A2K officials are working from home. The office is closed in present. So, it is difficult to pack the kit for A2K team. Furthermore, A2K has little experience in dealing with this kind of health kits and thus outsourced the packagin to suitable vendors.

Is it ensured to keep the package safe?

As COVID-19 lockdown is in effect in Bangalore, it was not possible to check any packages but the third party vendor has been clearly instructed to sanitize each item and then send them to recipients. The recipients of the packages are also requested to sanitize all items before using them.

Why is there delay in sending packages?

There are more than one reasons.

1. The vulnerable section is identified and prioritized first.
2. The vendor is sending packages en masse
3. There is a lockdown in Bangalore from where the package has been sent.
4. Sometimes the usual courier company does not serve some places in the country, so it takes some time to find another suitable courier.

I have issues with the package. Where can I report?

If you receive damaged or bad quality product or if some products are missing, please mail at wmwmcis-india.org to report immediately. The team will try to resolve the issue as best as they can.