Co-WIN glitches slow down vaccination in Mumbai
January 20, 2021 01:34
On the second day of COVID-19 inoculation
drive in Mumbai, the civic body managed to administer vaccines to
only 50 per cent of the targeted number of healthcare workers on Tuesday
due to glitches in Co-WIN software application, officials said.
The
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials again blamed
technical glitches in Co-WIN, the IT platform developed by the Union
government to implement and manage the inoculation process, for low
turnout of healthcare workers.
On Saturday, when the nationwide
inoculation drive was launched, the civic body had suspended the process
for two days due to the same reason related to Co-WIN.
On Tuesday, when
the drive resumed, of the targeted 3,200 healthcare workers called for
getting vaccinated at nine centres, only 1,597 were given shots,
according to the civic body data.
According to the data, the highest 307
healthcare workers were given vaccines at KEM Hospital, followed by 285
at Rajawadi Hospital and 236 at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, among
other medical facilities.
The least number of 13 healthcare workers took
doses at the state-run JJ Hospital, where indigenously developed 'Covaxin' vaccine of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is being
administered, according to the data.
The other vaccine being
administered is 'Covishield', manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute
of India (SII).
On the first day of the inoculation drive, only 39 of
the targeted 100 healthcare workers had taken 'Covaxin' doses.
Dr
Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC, told PTI that due to the
technical glitches in Co-WIN, they failed to send SMSes to the
registered healthcare workers.
"Hence, we were forced to call every
individual healthcare worker through 'war rooms' last night," Gomare
said.
"When we learnt that SMSes were not being sent to people (through
Co-WIN), we contacted them through war rooms," Gomare said.
The BMC
health officer said they have already contacted the Maharashtra
government regarding the technical issues faced in functioning of Co-WIN
and hoped for an early resolution of the problem.
On the first day of
COVID-19 inoculation drive on Saturday, only 1,923 of the targeted 4,000
healthcare were taken vaccine doses.
The civic body had blamed glitches
in Co-WIN for the low turnout and put the drive on hold on Sunday and
Monday.
On Tuesday morning, at all the nine centres in Mumbai,
inoculation started at a slow pace.
Unlike Saturday, there was hardly
any rush of healthcare workers in waiting areas of vaccination centres.
Some healthcare workers from KEM Hospital said they had received phone
calls from the BMC's war rooms on Monday night between 8.30 and 11.30,
but no SMSes were sent to them.
However, some others said they received
SMSes on early Tuesday morning, asking them to come at inoculation
sites. -- PTI