'Connectivity' poses hurdle for BMC to reach out to HCWs
Nearly 10-15 percent of beneficiaries registered for the mass COVID vaccination drive have reportedly provided the contact numbers which are out of coverage or wrong numbers, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities.
Since the centralised CoWin is not functioning, all the beneficiaries have been informed manually. It is learnt that of the targeted registered healthcare workers (HCWs), around 60 to 70 per cent doesn’t turn up to the vaccination centres as they don’t get messages due to faulty mobile numbers they provided at a time of registration.
Senior health officer said everyday they make a plan of inoculating 500 beneficiaries at each centre but when they make a call or want to inform them their phones are found to be switched off or they don’t receive it.
“There might be a possibility some of the registered HCWs are still hesitant in taking vaccines due to which they don’t receive calls or give wrong numbers so that no one should reach them,” he said.
Moreover since the state government has allowed walk-in the number of beneficiaries have increased at all the centres. Nearly 73 per cent of the targeted 1.10 lakh HCWs has been vaccinated in the city so far.
“During the first session the response was not good as compared to now. Moreover, the beneficiaries who have given wrong numbers or their phones are not reachable will be contacted again through the nodal officers who have been in-charge of respective hospitals to make the list of beneficiaries willing to take vaccine,” said Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner.
Dr Sheela Jagtap, BMC immunisation officer, said all the beneficiaries who have missed their chance in the first phase will get one more chance to take vaccine shots.