No CoWIN message sent to beneficiaries till late in evening

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 15

The people scheduled for vaccination on day 1 did not receive the mandatory message from the CoWIN portal either at DDU or the IGMC, two of the three sites selected for vaccination. “There’s some issue with the portal, but it will be resolved and the messages will go out to the beneficiaries,” said an official in the know of things.

Incidentally, the vaccination programme will be launched in the state at 10:30 am at the IGMC, coinciding with the nation-wide launch by the Prime Minister in Delhi. “We have made arrangements for a two-way webcast in case the Prime Minister wants to speak with anyone here,” said Shimla CMO Surekha Chopra.

At the IGMC, a safai karamchari will be the first to get the shot. At DDU, a lab technician will be inoculated first and a medical officer will start the proceedings at Rampur. “We have chosen people from different categories of healthcare workers so that every category gets covered,” she said.

As for any apprehension and hesitation among healthcare professionals over getting vaccinated, Doctor Chopra said by and large there was no such issue among the beneficiaries. “I have had people calling me up to include them in the list,” she said.

Shimla district has received 7,200 doses from the consignment that arrived yesterday. On the first day, 400 people will be vaccinated, with 200 at IGMC and 100 each at DDU and Rampur hospital.