THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the health department set to administer the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for senior citizens from next week, the inability of a large number of people to get themselves registered on the national vaccine portal -- cowin.gov.in -- after getting the first dose could pose difficulties in completing the vaccination process.
The second dose will be given only if the beneficiary is able to show digital records (registration identity number or partially vaccinated certificate) of the first jab administered at least 28 days before. However, the health department estimates that at least 20 per cent of those vaccinated have failed to register on the portal. It is a huge number considering the fact that the state has carried out 27,65,118 vaccinations, 22,88,159 of which relate to the first dose alone, till Wednesday.
"The problem is primarily because of a glitch in the CoWin application which failed to register the names at various vaccination centres. People without registration will not get the second dose and vaccine certificate. Even if they are unable to revive the old registration, they can still make new registrations and complete the second dose," said an officer with the health department. Efforts were made to inform people to approach the nearest vaccination centres to get the registration done at the earliest, the officer said.
"We were able to assist people who approached us for registration. The slips issued at the time of the first jab are enough to register. But many are unaware that they should get registered to be eligible for the second dose," he said.
Even if the vaccine beneficiary failed to get an intimation via SMS during the initial registration, the slips will be enough to get the registration done for the second dose. The health department has insisted on registration as the future vaccine allocation to the state is based on the number of registrations made on the portal.
Currently, the state has been allocated both Covishield and Covaxin doses. "Registration is important because a person who has taken Covishield as the first dose should not be given Covaxin as the second dose," the officer said.
The state has administered 26,38,125 doses of Covishield and 1,26,993 doses of Covaxin till Wednesday.