Bizzare! People get COVID-19 vaccine certificates without receiving a jab
Sources said that the Health employees, who have been assigned the job of registering the Aadhaar cards for vaccinated people, are resorting to fake vaccination registrations.
As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign gains traction in Kashmir, a new pattern has emerged: scores of individuals are receiving completely vaccinated certificates despite not having been vaccinated against the pandemic.
Aadhar card and phone number is all it takes
Sources privy to the fraudulent practice, especially in hospitals of the valley, said that ‘some’ persons are presenting their Aadhar cards along with their cellphone numbers and receive completely vaccinated certificates despite not having been vaccinated.
A doctor from southern Kashmir’s Shopian district, on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is really difficult to determine if a person has been vaccinated or not since people are now obtaining certificates without having been vaccinated.”
Furthermore, as per the doctor, some persons who only had one vaccination are receiving notifications on their registered mobile phones, stating that they have been fully vaccinated and that they may download their fully vaccinated certificates.
People receiving vaccination messages of unknown people
In addition, scores of people in the valley are receiving completely vaccinated messages on their phones with the details of unknown people.
Shakoor Ahmad, a non-local tailor working in Shopian, said that he received a message, which read, “Dear Nisar Ahmad Ganie, Congratulations! You have successfully completed the schedule of all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. You can download your certificate at – https://cowin.gov.in – COWIN.”
The non-local said he was baffled after reading the message as he doesn’t know the person whose vaccination details were sent to his phone.
‘Reports of fraudulent certificates worrying, if true’
A prominent doctor in the southern district said that if the reports are true, it is very worrying and could be very detrimental for the COVID scenario in the coming days.
“The government, especially the Health department, needs to investigate the reports and take corrective measures as soon as possible,” he stated.
When brought into the notice of a senior doctor in the district, a prominent doctor stated, “If that is the case, then that is quite worrying, and authorities must address it as soon as possible.”
He went on to say that if an unvaccinated individual becomes ill, he can turn into a ‘super-spreaders of the virus while the vaccinated persons will also be risked to the infection, given the reported ‘fake’ certificates.
