BMC won’t develop new app, to use COWIN

MUMBAI: To avoid any confusion among healthcare workers, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has scrapped its plan to develop an app similar to Centre’s COWIN system.

Last month, BMC had decided to develop an app that would focus on beneficiaries only from Mumbai for the mass inoculation programme. It had also begun talks with a private app developer to create a system to store and update details of the city’s vaccine beneficiaries.

“We had decided to develop a similar app to help us to control it according to our needs. But to avoid any confusion among the beneficiaries over two different apps, we have abandoned the plan. Now, we will only focus on COWIN,” said additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani.

However, a section of doctors said beneficiaries should be provided with the option of ‘refusal’ or ‘delay’ in the centralised app, in case anyone wishes to wait longer or not take the vaccine at all. Dr Deepak Baid, president of the Association of Medical Consultants, said, “This is a voluntary process. Any healthcare worker can refuse to take the vaccine. So that option should be included in the app. If anyone wants to wait longer before getting the shot, they should be given an option of ‘delay’ too.”

If a healthcare worker does not visit the vaccination centre, they will be sent three messages with new dates. “If they still don’t get vaccinated, they will be added to the list of defaulters,” said BMC immunisation officer Dr Sheela Jagtap.