The technical limitation in the CoWIN platform is proving to be a hindrance in implementing the government's three-month wait rule as several people in Delhi have got their vaccines shortly after testing negative for Covid-19.
On April 30, twenty-six-year-old Ansh, a resident of Delhi's Krishna Nagar, tested negative for Covid-19 after having contracted the virus a fortnight ago. He and his 56-year-old father were both unvaccinated.
A day later, the government expanded Covid-19 vaccination for people in the age group of 18-44 years. But, Ansh had to wait until May 24 for his turn. That was when he and his father got their first shots at a vaccination centre in New Delhi.
However, just five days ago, the Union health ministry had issued fresh guidelines to all states and UTs stating that people who have recovered from Covid-19 recently, should wait for at least three months before taking their vaccine shots.
The government's rationale, based on research studies and recommendation from a nation expert panel, was that a recovered person has enough antibodies that would protect them against re-infection for at least three months. Hence, delaying their vaccination would ensure that others who are at risk of contracting the disease, get protected.
"We decided to get vaccinated in order to protect our family. We registered ourselves on the CoWIN platform and got our vaccination slots for May 24," Ansh said.
He added that while registering for the vaccination slot there was no mechanism in the digital platform that barred them for taking the shots on the ground that they had just recovered from Covid-19.
"No one enquired about our Covid-19 status or stopped us even at the vaccination centre," he said, adding that this was even though he had used his Aadhar card at the time of taking the RT-PCR test as well as while registering on CoWIN.
NOT A LONE CASE
Ansh is not the only person who has recently recovered from Covid-19 but was able to get vaccinated after May 19, the day when the government announced a three-month wait period for the just recovered people.
Thirty-three-year-old Mehul Chopra (name changed), a resident of Noida, was also able to get vaccinated at a government vaccination centre in the city in a similar manner.
Mehul had recovered from Covid-19 and tested negative on May 9. He was able to get a vaccination slot on May 21 and got the shots without any questions asked.
Just like Ansh, he too used his Aadhar card at the time of taking the RT-PCR test as well for registering on CoWIN.
Thirty-eight-year-old Prem Lata, a resident of Delhi's Mayur Vihar, had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 11. She recovered in about two weeks. Her 63-year-old mother too contracted the viral disease and recovered later.
On May 1, when Covid-19 vaccination was opened up for all adults, Prem Lata decided to take the shot. However, her turn came on May 21. But, in her case, she had booked her vaccination slot before the government issued the new guidelines.
Speaking to India Today TV on condition of anonymity, a nodal officer at a Covid vaccination centre in Delhi's East Delhi district said, "There is no feature in the CoWIN platform for us to check whether a person has recovered from Covid-19 recently or not. The platform also does not provide any information as to after what date a recently recovered person is eligible for vaccination."
CONFUSION PREVAILS ON HOW TO COUNT 3 MONTHS
Apart from the technical limitation in the CoWIN platform, which is proving to be a hindrance in implementing the government's three-month wait rule, people who have recently recovered are also facing difficulties in deciding when they should get vaccinated.
Speaking on the matter, a member of a Residents' Welfare Association (RWA) in Delhi's Greater Kailash-1 said since the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently recommended people not to take an RT-PCR test to check their negative status, there is no clarity from which date one should calculate the three-month period.
"The dates that are known are the day when a person witnessed the first symptom or when they tested positive. The period of recovery varies from patient to patient. In my case, I did not develop any fever or throat irritation after the ninth day, but my wife's fever continued even after Day 18. We are told that there are many cases of 'long Covid' too, which is quite prevalent," he said.
He added that the CoWIN platform should have a feature that detects a person's Covid-19 recovery status and determines their eligibility for vaccination accordingly.
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