Govt allows jabs without App, offline mode
Only 25 pc target met in first 3 days
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Jan 19: Serious glitches in Co-WIN App have badly marred COVID vaccination drive in Jammu and Kashmir with the Union Territory giving jabs to just one-fourth of targeted health workers on Day 3 of the drive prompting top brass of Health and Medical Education to review the issues and issued revised guidelines to boost the inoculation.
As against the targeted vaccinating 4000 health workers each day at 40 sites set up in the Union Territory—20 each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions—only 2180 persons got jabs on Day 1 followed by 1223 on Day 2 and just 1021 today i.e. Day 3. While around 50 percent target was achieved on first day of vaccination, on day second and third, it was just about 25 percent.
Worst was the performance in some of the districts including Kupwara district where just 10 healthcare workers got the vaccination today as against the target of 200. In other districts, 12 persons got the jabs today in Shopian district, 13 Bandipora, 26 Kathua, 29 Kishtwar, 30 Doda, 38 Baramulla and 40 each in Ganderbal, Anantnag and Ramban districts. Even in Jammu district, just 129 workers were vaccinated as against the target of 400 while Srinagar district, the figure was just 33 while the targeted workers were 300.
In the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, around 40 healthcare workers were vaccinated during last two days.
Official sources attributed slow pace of vaccination in the Jammu region to serious glitches in Co-WIN App due to which number of healthcare workers couldn’t be vaccinated.
“The Co-WIN App was showing some of the healthcare workers in different sites of vaccination. Names of registered workers were missing from the sites where they were supposed to receive vaccination. Moreover, the App was repeatedly getting down leading to vaccination of very few healthcare workers during last three days of the drive,’’ sources said, adding the App was calling abstained healthcare workers again but they are not coming forward for vaccination.
In view of the glitches, Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education Atal Dulloo today called meeting of senior functionaries of the Department to review the slow pace of vaccination,
Reliable sources said the authorities have been permitted to vaccinate any of the registered 1.10 lakh healthcare workers if those shown by Co-WIN App are not available from tomorrow. This, according to sources, will boost the vaccination drive as many registered workers are coming forward to take jabs but their names didn’t figure in Co-WIN App. Now such workers will be able to get vaccine.
Further, the authorities have been permitted to use offline mode for vaccination in view of slow speed of Internet due to 2G network and upload the data later.
The vaccination will be given five days a week in Jammu and Kashmir instead of four days now onwards i.e. Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Only Wednesday and Sunday besides the Gazetted holidays will be off days. Earlier, the vaccination drive was planned four days a week.
Meanwhile, former Director SKIMS and a renowned scientist, Dr Muhammad Sultan Khuroo also took his first vaccine shot at the SKIMS today and said that he was doing perfectly fine.
On the other side, all the recipients of the vaccine on January 16 and those who were given the vaccine after that are said to be doing well.
In this regard, a video message was put out by the Director SKIMS, Dr A G Ahanger in which he said that he along with his other colleagues are doing well post getting the vaccine shot.
“I took the first shot, and I am feeling good so are others, Prof Khuroo also took his shot today and was observed; he is in front of me and is doing well,” Dr Ahanger said in his video message.
He also added that there was no need of paying heed to the negative campaign that has been allegedly started and also that such assertions are not acceptable without any solid evidence.
“There is no need to pay heed to the negative campaign launched as this is the only cure and only way to end the pandemic. People should come forward to take benefits of the vaccine,” he said.
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