Bengaluru founder praises city’s healthcare after dog bite, contrasts friend’s US experience

A Bengaluru-based founder has sparked a debate after contrasting his experience accessing urgent care in the city with that of a friend in the US. Taking to X, Siddharth Dialani, founder and CEO of BharatAgri, shared that he was bitten a friend’s pet dog while attending a house party. Despite being assured that the dog was vaccinated, he chose to get a rabies shot as a precaution.The post drew mixed reactions online, with several users questioning the comparison. (X/@siddharth_iitm)Dialani said that he was able to walk into a near clinic in Koramangala and receive the vaccine within minutes. He described the facility as affordable, accessible and efficient, crediting the ease of access to a healthcare network run Clinikk. “We take a lot of things for granted in India,” he wrote. “The clinic was just 1km from my home at Koramangala, was affordable, vaccine was available and staff was caring. That’s peak healthcare!” he added.In contrast, Dialani claimed that a friend in San Francisco struggled to find a rabies vaccine within a 10-mile radius after being bitten a stray dog, leading to hours of anxiety.How did social media react?The post drew mixed reactions online, with several users questioning the comparison.One user pointed out that accessibility in urban pockets like Bengaluru may not reflect the reality across India. “Getting anything in Koramangala very easy. When this happens in 65% of the population living in rural area who still struggle to get basic medical facilities, it’s not really a win,” the user wrote.Others highlighted that the US has largely eliminated dog-to-human rabies transmission, reducing the routine availability of vaccines. “Well, did you ask yourself why that could be – That is because US has eliminated dog to human rabies transmission. Without a doubt US health care is expensive than India but there are countless things that countries like US are doing right that we need to learn from,” another commented.“The comparison is pretty weird. He might find a clinic 25 miles away where he can reach in 30 mins while your 1 km journey might take more than an hour,” wrote a third user.“Not being able to find vaccine in 10 mile radius probably had something to do with the fact that the US is considered 100% free from canine rabies since 2007. Not sure if this is something to be proud of,” wrote another.Responding to the criticism, Dialani maintained that urgency matters in such cases. “My friend’s doctor suggested that irrespective of the rabies track record in USA, she must get a vaccine! She had 24 hours of panic time in finding the vaccine! For a patient running against time, 10 miles can be a big deal!” he said.However, several users supported his point, calling India’s healthcare access a “success story”.“Access to healthcare in India is one of the best success stories of the nation,” one user commented.“India’s healthcare infrastructure really is the dark horse here. Walk-in rabies vaccine in 10 mins vs your friend searching hospitals in the richest country on earth. We’ve actually solved the access problem. Just haven’t marketed it well enough,” said another.“That’s so true. I wanted a blood test report. In India I used to get my report within 3-4 hours, medication would start immediately. In US it took more than a week. I am not even sure, It even reflects my current condition,” shared another.