Post the allegations of irregularities, GHMC has from Tuesday onwards stopped issuing paper tokens for COVID-19 vaccination of the “super spreaders” as part of the ongoing drive.
Instead, details of the persons to be vaccinated will be uploaded online, before allotting slot for vaccination, officials informed.
Several issues have come to fore during the vaccination drive which had started on May 28 and was to continue for 10 days.
Ten categories of super spreaders were identified for this purpose, including street vendors, grocery shop owners, auto and cab drivers, fair price shop dealers, delivery personnel, petrol pump staff, and others.
Allegations, however, abounded that the vaccines were being diverted to persons with money and muscle power.
Higher officials who inspected the vaccination centres found to their shock that at several vaccination centres, corporators brought their family members and followers and coerced the staff into vaccinating them instead of the high risk groups. Sources informed that a few went as far as kidnapping the staff issuing tokens.
A Deputy Commissioner and an Assistant Medical Officer from Goshamahal circle have been issued memos by GHMC Commissioner D. S. Lokesh Kumar for issue of tokens to ineligible persons.
In view of these irregularities, from Wednesday onwards, the system of issuing paper tokens will be done away with. Instead, ground staff will visit each trade and upload the details of beneficiaries, including name, Aadhaar number, details of the trade, and mobile number, along with photo of the beneficiary onto an app designed for this purpose.
A reference number will be generated on the spot and a slot will be allotted for the beneficiary concerned. Timings and reference number will be sent to the mobile phone of the beneficiary, which he or she would be required to produce at the vaccination centre.
Once vaccinated, the reference number along with mobile number will be disabled for use for the next one month, officials informed.
A total of 3 lakh persons were aimed to be covered during the 10-day vaccination drive, at the rate of 1000 persons per circles. A highest daily number of 27,117 persons were vaccinated as part of the drive on Tuesday.