Vaccine hesitancy may be a continued area of concern for Indian authorities, but that is just one of the myriad problems that India's COVID-19 inoculation drive faces. In a bizarre incident a man in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal claimed that he had received his COVID-19 vaccination certificate without actually receiving his jab. And going by the comments online, he is not alone.
"I'd booked my vaccination slot on May 27 but before going to the vaccination center I received a message on phone saying that 'you're vaccinated successfully'," Divyansh Jaiwar told news agency ANI.
While is was not immediately clear if he had ultimately managed to procure a dose for himself, the news has prompted an investigation. Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang on Wednesday assured that the administration would take action against anyone found guilty.
While many on Twitter appear to be horrified by the idea, numerous posts suggest that similar instances have occurred in other parts of the country involving them or people they know.
"This is not a software bug, as what I had seen the PIC was entering names online regd jab administered and that counter was before the vaccination booth. So in a way the person in a yet to be vaccinated but the system registers that he or she is vaccinated and issues certificate (sic),"' one user explained.
"This is already happened with my mother and grand mother. Both have their Vaccination certificate," commiserated another.
"They messed up my cousin's walk-in registration with a wrong phone number as well. Somebody else has his certificate," said a third.