At a time when governments, both at the Centre and in the State, have been appealing people to get COVID-19 vaccines, an octogenarian from Bihar’s Madhepura district has claimed to have taken it 11 times last year.
“I benefited a lot from vaccines…I got relief from my back pain and waist pain and this is why I’ve been taking it repeatedly. Everyone should get vaccines,” said Brahmadev Mandal, 84, from Orai village under the Puraini police station of Udakishunganj block.
In a viral video, Mr. Mandal, a retired postal department employee, claimed that he took his first vaccine on February 13, 2021 and the last on December 30 at the public health centres (PHCs) of Madhepura, Khagaria and Bhagalpur districts.
Mr. Mandal has even jotted down on a piece of paper the time, dates and places where he took the shots. He allegedly used his Aadhaar card and phone number eight times and his voter ID card and wife’s phone number on the other occasions.
“It’s a matter of investigation and only after that anything can be said on this,” said Madhepura civil surgeon Amarendra Pratap Shahi. However, a Health Department official in Patna told The Hindu on condition of anonymity that “systems at offline camps can be cheated for jabs”.
No adverse impact has been reported and he appeared hale and hearty in the video.