Covid vaccine drive: Health ministry allows on-spot beneficiary registration
To deal with the issue of low turnout of healthcare workers at the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination sites, the Union ministry of health and family welfare has modified the Co-WIN app to now allow on-spot beneficiary registration, and with the upgrade, the states can accommodate walk-ins.
“The average vaccination sessions allowed per site are 100, and we were told in some centres fewer people were turning up. We have made a provision in the app to also accommodate beneficiaries scheduled to take the jab on other dates. Earlier, the software wasn’t designed to accept beneficiaries outside the day’s list but now they can,” said Dr RS Sharma, chairman, empowered group on Covid-19 vaccination.
“It made sense to make changes in the software because a lot of resources otherwise could go to waste, such as, manpower that was there at the centre, vaccine supplies etc. So long as the person who has landed at the session site is eligible to receive the vaccine, even if they are registered for any other day, there should be no problem. Why waste resources and time, since we have to vaccinate a particular number of healthcare workers anyway,” said Sharma.
Also read | 9 states, UTs among better performing areas during Covid-19 vaccination drive
He, however, refuted allegations that there were major glitches in the Co-WIN app that is the backbone of Covid-19 vaccine delivery management system.
“There are minor hiccups, which are normal to have when you put such a large-scale system in production. Dry runs are one part but in real-time, there is always a possibility of encountering issues which may have been missed otherwise. None of what we have seen so far is anything major, in fact, some are even procedural issues that are being rectified,” he said.
The officials in the ministry said that there were no issues with the app; in fact, the vaccination process will also be scaled up soon.
“It also depends on how tech-savvy are the people handling the software. There is also the option of manually uploading data but that is only in extreme situations and has to be done real-time otherwise the backlog will be huge,” he said.
While walk-ins have been allowed, priority will still be given to current day beneficiaries.
“Those who are registered for the day will have to be vaccinated first, and others should be accommodated only if registered beneficiaries do not turn up. Certain conditions are non-negotiable such as eligibility, so that those not eligible don’t jump the line; record the vaccination event real-time, and issuing of vaccination certificate. Everyone who gets vaccinated must be accounted for so that tracking is effectively done,” said Sharma.
“This software is an empowering tool, not a disabling tool,” he added.
LIVE: China's Covid-19 tally rises by 9 fresh cases
Verifying reports of 3 Myanmarese cops crossing over to India, says Mizoram
- A Reuters report quoting unnamed officials stated that at least 19 Myanmarese policemen have crossed over to the Indian side through border areas in Serchip and Champhai districts
Raj Thackeray party takes credit of closing Karachi Bakery; not true, say others
'Gujarat leg of bullet train may open before Maharashtra first if...': Official
PM Modi to hold virtual summit on bilateral issues with his Sweden counterpart
Delhi HC directs UP police to give post mortem report of farmer
At least three Myanmar cops cross into India seeking refuge
- Those entering India can be granted refugee status, but they will be deported if the government decides against it
Cyber policy to factor in threat from state actors
- The 50-odd pages document, anchored by the national security adviser’s office, is now awaiting the approval from the Prime Minister’s office before it is released.
Covid-19: Phase 2 of vaccination drive stuck in first gear
- Delhi, which gave shots to 1,679 people per million population in the second phase till Wednesday night, was in the second spot, while Odisha (1,283 doses per million) was third
OTT regulations a necessity as some even show porn, says SC
- The scenes that caused offence have since been deleted, and the makers as well as the OTT company have apologised.
‘Can’t mandate perverse equality’: SC on plea over commission for women
- The medical fitness team of the Army tested close to 615 women SSC officers entitled for permanent commission, following the apex court judgment, on five counts: psychiatry, height, appendage (bone structure), physical and eye and ear.
N-E cities have the strongest feel-good factor
- The EOL report has calculated its overall scores on the basis of four parameters: quality of life, economic ability, sustainability and citizen perception.
Economic might led Bengaluru to top
- Bengaluru, India’s technology capital, is an economic powerhouse on account of the presence of some of the world’s largest corporations.
BJP names Metro Man as its Kerala CM face, then retracts
- K Surendran, the state BJP president who made the original announcement claimed he was quoted out of context.
_1614884674395_1614884685385.jpg "The fire in Similipal biosphere reserve came at a time when Odisha topped the list of forest fire incidents with 8688 fire spots since February 25 as per the Forest Survey of India’s fire alerts system. (ANI PHOTO).")
Similipal blaze contained, Odisha asks for rapid response to forest fires
- The biosphere reserve spread over an area of 5569 sq km contributes 38% of the total protected area network in Odisha. It is also one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country having the largest zone of Sal trees.