CoWIN server slows down in Maharashtra, health dept faces trouble

Due to technical glitches, the server slowed down. The health department faced trouble informing details of the vaccination to registered beneficiaries.

(PLATechnical glitches slowed down Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network or CoWIN — an application developed by the central government to monitor and track the inoculation - a day before nationwide mass inoculation programme.

Image for representation. (AFP)

As a result, confusion prevailed till late evening since registered healthcare workers failed to receive information about their vaccination centre and timing.

Protocol mandates all health workers who are keen on getting the vaccine to register on the application. With the health department unable to receive the link to send messages to registered individuals, officials at vaccination centres were forced to call individual beneficiaries and provide the requisite information.

"Due to some technical glitches, the server of the Co-Win application has slowed down, Thus, we aren’t able to send the message to registered beneficiaries. Following which, we have created a WhatsApp group where all beneficiaries of respective districts have been added and we are sending a message to those groups informing them about the vaccination centres and timing," said Dilip Patil, state immunisation officer.

This raised concern among the in-charge of the vaccination centres. “We have got the application but we haven’t got the link yet. We are personally informing healthcare workers about the timing of the vaccination,” said a dean of one of the BMC-run vaccination centres. “This might be the biggest hurdle tomorrow as we need to verify the details of the beneficiaries,” the officer added.

On a regular basis, hospitals have to make a roster of their medical staff. Due to the confusion, hospital staffers had to wait till late night to make one. “We don’t know who will get called for the vaccination so we couldn't even make the roster of our duty till late night. There is so much of confusion,” said a doctor from BYL Nair hospital.