Dead man in MP gets COVID-19 certificate

New Delhi, Dec 11: A dead senior citizen allegedly received a message about having taken the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and got a certificate for the same in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, an official said today.

The authorities have cited computer error as a reason for the goof-up, in which Purushottam Shakyawar (78) of Biaora town, who died in May, received a message on his mobile phone number that he was administered the second dose of the vaccine on December 3.

According to the dead man's son Phool Singh Shakyawar, they received the message on December 3 and were also able to download the vaccine certificate, reported news agency PTI.

Mr Shakyawar said his father had taken the first dose of the vaccine on April 8. He had died on May 24 while undergoing treatment in Indore.

When asked about the goof-up, District Vaccination Officer Dr PL Bhagoria said he had received information about the matter and was inquiring into it, reported Press Trust of India.

A glitch in the computer might have generated such a message, he said.

Biaora's block medical officer Dr Sharad Sahu said that since vaccination is being carried out on a large scale, someone might have entered the wrong mobile phone number while making an entry, and the mistake will be rectified.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Biaora Ramchandra Dangi alleged that the state government was misleading people by presenting the wrong data of vaccination.

Such incidents were exposing the government's claim and a high-level inquiry should be conducted into all such cases, he said.

(PTI)