CoWin Certificates No Longer Have PM Modi's Photo

The photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from CoWIN certificates issued for COVID-19 vaccinations has been removed, The Hindu reported.

Earlier, these certificates had PM Modi's image alongside a quote that read: "Together, India will defeat COVID-19." However, his name has been omitted from the certificate.

Several social media users have shed light on the removal of PM Modi's picture from the certificates. It has to be noted that in compliance with the Model Code of Conduct preceding the general election, all government websites have removed PM Modi's photos.

"Modi ji no more visible on COVID Vaccine certificates. Just downloaded to check - yes, his pic is gone," one user said on X.

"Yes, I just checked and PM Modi's photo has disappeared and there is only QR code instead of his photo," the second user commented.

It comes days after UK-headquartered pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZ) admitted that in "very rare cases" its COVID vaccine can cause a blood clot related side effect but the causal link is unknown, according to court papers being quoted in the UK media.

According to The Daily Telegraph, AZ acknowledged in a legal filing to the High Court in London in February, as part of a collective lawsuit involving 51 claimants, that the vaccine developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford to combat COVID-19 could potentially lead to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) in "extremely rare instances." This vaccine, known as AZ Vaxzevria, was also produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and marketed in India under the name Covishield.

It may be recalled that the Election Commission of India (ECI) in 2022 had ordered for the removal of Modi's photograph from vaccination certificates issued in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa, ahead of the assembly elections in those regions.