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Kashmir man who has been dead for sixty years ‘receives both doses’ of Covid vaccine

Over 5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Kashmir so far

Mayank Aggarwal
Monday 12 July 2021 14:37 BST
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<p>A Kashmiri shepherd watches villagers being vaccinated during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Tosamaidan, southwest of Srinagar</p>

A Kashmiri shepherd watches villagers being vaccinated during a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Tosamaidan, southwest of Srinagar

A man in Kashmir recently discovered that his grandfather, who died six decades ago, received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Mudasir Siddiq, 33, of India’s Srinagar city said he found the profile of his late grandfather, Ali Mohammad Bhat, on the CoWIN platform used by the Indian government for vaccine registrations for Covid-19 vaccination, according to The Wire. The CoWIN website showed him as having received both doses of vaccine.

“I tested positive for COVID-19 a month ago so I registered to receive my first dose only recently. I also persuaded the rest of my family members to get their shots. They all got themselves registered through my number. All our respective status reports feature on the same page,” he said.

Mr Siddiq said the government’s vaccine platform showed the names of his family members, registered under his number. The listing included his grandfather. He expressed surprise as he said he had “never seen” his grandfather.

“Even my father has little knowledge of exactly how and when my grandfather died,” he said, pointing out that the reference number and secret code assigned to his grandfather were unique, while the date of birth and another detail were the same as his father’s.

“Even if it’s a technical error, how does the website know the name of my grandfather? We did not even register him,” Mr Siddiq said.

According to the official data, since the start of the pandemic, Jammu and Kashmir has recorded over 318,693 cases of Covid-19 including over 4,350 deaths. Up to now, over 5.15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the Jammu and Kashmir region, with 4.3 million of them having received only the first jab.

The news report quoted local authorities claiming to have accelerated vaccination drives at religious sites to tackle the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19.

Over the past few weeks, several local media reports have highlighted instances of confrontation between health workers and locals who were hesitant to take the vaccines, even as authorities have been urging them to get vaccinated.

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