Co-Win hurdle: Several couldn’t get the jab

KOLKATA: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and the state cabinet minister Subrata Mukherjee on Wednesday received the first dose of Covid vaccine along with his wife at the SSKM Hospital.

After taking the jab, Mukherjee told the reporters that the State government has taken adequate arrangement of Covid vaccination. He also urged the people to come forward to receive the vaccine.

“There is nothing to get scared of. We have received the first jab quite happily. Politicians must come forward in large numbers and receive the vaccine so that people overcome fear that has been triggered among a section about Covid vaccine. People from the community will be encouraged when they will see politicians are being inoculated,” he added.

The Speaker of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, Biman Bandyopadhyay also received the first dose of Covid vaccine on Wednesday. Senior Trinamool Congress leader from North Bengal Rabindra Nath Ghosh also received the first dose of Covid vaccine on Wednesday. All of them stayed at the respective hospitals for around 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine. The community vaccination has already been started in Bengal like all other states.

According to Health department sources, beneficiaries mostly the elderly people who registered on the Co-Win app for receiving vaccination on Wednesday and visited various hospitals had to be sent back since glitches in the app left their registration process incomplete. They were, however, issued with tokens from the hospital so that they can get vaccinated on Thursday.

This is for the third time CoWIN 2 app has been showing glitches since the community vaccination drive began across the state.

“The 3rd phase of Covid vaccination using the new portal version Co-Win 2 is gradually picking up momentum in the State. Besides the health worker, front line workers and election workers, the elderly people and above 45 people with comorbidities were vaccinated on Wednesday. The portal issue was somewhat resolved. Around 84,678 people were vaccinated and cumulatively 12.89 lakh people (HCW, FLW, elderly citizens) were vaccinated so far. There was no information about any AEFI today,” a senior health department official said.

“The overall situation has improved significantly on Wednesday. Despite some initial glitches with the Co-WIN app, the situation improved by noon and we could vaccinate a sizable number of people,” a senior health official said. AMRI Hospitals on Wednesday vaccinated over 600 beneficiaries, including senior citizens, those with comorbidities between the age of 45-59 and second dose recipients from among healthcare & other frontline workers at two of its Covid vaccination centres (CVC) ~ AMRI Hospitals Dhakuria and Mukundapur.

At AMRI Dhakuria, total 400 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 7 pm including 266 senior citizens, 24 beneficiaries with co-morbidities, 110-second dose recipients and a section of the 246 registered beneficiaries who had to be sent back on Tuesday due to shortage of vials. Around 60 beneficiaries, who registered on the Co-Win platform for Wednesday, had to be sent back due to the glitches in the app.