CO-WIN glitches continue to affect Mumbai inoculation drive

On the third day of COVID-19inoculation drive in the city, the civic body managed toadminister vaccines to just 52 per cent of the targeted 3,300healthcare workers on Wednesday due to glitches in Co-WINsoftware application, officials said, adding that 'walk-in'vaccination is now allowed for registered workers.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officialsagain blamed technical glitches in Co-WIN, the IT platformdeveloped by the Union government to implement and manage theinoculation process, for low turnout of healthcare workers.

In view of the technical glitches, the BMC has decidedto allow 'walk in' vaccination for the registered healthcareworkers.

On Saturday, when the nationwide inoculation drive waslaunched, the civic body had suspended the process for twodays due to the same reason related to Co-WIN.

On Wednesday, of the targeted 3,300 healthcare workerscalled for getting vaccinated at nine centres, only 1,728workers or 52 per cent turned up, officials said.

On the second day of COVID-19 inoculation drive inMumbai on Tuesday, the civic body managed to administervaccines to only 50 per cent of the targeted number ofhealthcare workers.

According to data, the highest 362 healthcare workerswere administered vaccines at KEM Hospital on Wednesday,followed by 306 at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, and 236 atRajawadi Hospital, among other medical facilities.

All of them were administered Covishield vaccine,manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII),barring 15 healthcare workers who received doses of Covaxin atthe state-run JJ Hospital.

On the third day in a row, the least number of vaccinedoses were administrated at JJ Hospital.

Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC, toldPTI that the Co-WIN application is still erratic, though sometechnical glitches are resolved.

The BMC has now decided to allow the registeredhealthcare workers to ''walk in'' and take vaccine doses, eventhough they are not listed for a particular day.

''Any registered healthcare worker, whose name is notin the list of vaccination on a given day, can now walk-in andtake the vaccine jab,'' Dr Gomare said.

The civic body officials said that due to technicalglitches, they were unable to get the details of the 4,000registered health care workers, whom they want to schedule forthe next day of vaccination, and unable to send them SMSthrough the system.

''Hence we have to call every individual healthcareworker through 'war rooms'' late in the night,'' they said.

On the first day of COVID-19 inoculation drive onSaturday, only 1,923 of the targeted 4,000 healthcare workerswere administered vaccine shots.