CoWin tech glitch: Two 1st dose certificates for 2.5 lakh beneficiaries in Pune district
According to the data obtained from CoWin app, at least 5 lakh vaccination entries from Pune district have reflected duplication of first dose vaccination certificate
PUNE The Pune district may be focusing on vaccinating their entire targeted population, but registration errors are proving to be a hurdle, throwing up some strange challenges in the process. One such is some fully vaccinated recipients ending up with two first dose certificates because they registered afresh on the CoWin portal for the second dose with a different phone number and identity proof.
According to the data obtained from CoWin app, at least 5 lakh vaccination entries from Pune district have reflected duplication of first dose vaccination certificate.
Through this glitch, over 2.5 lakh beneficiaries have received two first dose certificates, said officials from the Zilla Parishad.
Ayush Prasad, chief executive officer (CEO), Pune Zilla Parishad said, “The excel entries that we receive from the CoWin application show several entries having the same demographic. We have found at least 5 lakh entries so far which have the same age and other details. And we are approaching these beneficiaries and trying to correct the glitch,” said Prasad.
He added that this discrepancy was seen among migrant workers. “We found that there are duplicate entries and both are for the first dose. When we reached out to the beneficiaries it was found that for their first dose, they registered from a different number and provided a different identify proof which has led to the duplication,” said Prasad.
According to Prasad, the duplication process is ongoing. “In many cases, the first dose of these beneficiaries was administered by their respective companies. And for the second dose, the beneficiaries went to government or private centres. Here, the registration was done using different numbers and proof of identity, which led to the glitch,” said Prasad.
He further added that the team at ZP are working to correct these duplicated entries.
“Now, we are reaching out to beneficiaries who have duplicate certificates and rectifying the error and are encouraging those who are yet to receive the second dose. Vaccinating the high risk groups is our agenda,” said Prasad.
Speaking about the technical glitches, Dr Sanjay Patil, chairperson of the Indian Medical Association’s Hospital Board of India, Pune chapter said that the technical glitches have been reported multiple times. “In my case as well there was an issue. I received the first dose of vaccination on January 23, 2021. And my second dose on March 5 last year. But my vaccination certificate states that my second dose was in June. Because of this, I was unable to take the precaution dose when it started, as according to my certificate I did not qualify. Now the problems have reduced mostly because vaccination figures have dropped overall,” said Dr Patil.