Portal glitch hits vax drive on Day 2, only 2,769 take the jab in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 2

Even on the second day of the Phase-2 of the vaccination drive, technical glitches affected the online registration portal. As a result, only 2,769 persons could be vaccinated on Tuesday.

The drive was launched in the state yesterday under which vaccine was to be administered to senior citizens aged above 60 and citizens aged 45 to 59 having co-morbidities as specified by the government. On Tuesday, just 2,769 eligible persons were vaccinated. In two days, 3,838 people received the shots.

730 new cases, 10 deaths reported

The state reported 730 cases and 10 deaths in the past 24 hours. As far as deaths are concerned, Amritsar topped the chart with three deaths, followed by Gurdaspur and Jalandhar (2 each); Patiala, SAS Nagar and Ropar (1 each)

Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state’s nodal officer for Covid, said the connectivity issue with the portal affected the drive on the second day consecutively. “We have taken up the matter with the Government of India. Hopefully, the situation will improve on Wednesday,” he said.

In Jalandhar, around 143 persons received the first dose of the vaccine. District immunisation officer Dr Rakesh Chopra said, “Due to technical faults, there were problems in the registration process. Only one private hospital administered vaccinations.”

At the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, 200 people, including health and frontline workers, got vaccinated on Tuesday. At least 20 private hospitals are expected to start operations tomorrow onwards.

At the Abohar Civil Hospital, as many as 208 persons were vaccinated till the evening.