No jabs taken, but over 50 in UP village get vaccine certificates

AGRA: At least 50 residents in UP’s Mainpuri were issued Covid vaccination certificates without being administered the shot. The certificates were allegedly distributed by health department workers who wanted to “meet their vaccination targets”.Hard copies of the certificates were given to 50 people in Lapgava village in Ghiror block during a government vaccination camp on June 24. But nobody was vaccinated that day, residents have alleged.Dileep Kumar, pradhan of Lapgava — which has a population of 800 — said that at least 50 residents had attended the vaccination camp in the village after Asha workers had gathered people but nobody was administered the shot. “I complained about this incident to the authorities several times and we even tweeted about it, but our complaints were not heard,” he said.One of the residents who received the certificate, Sandeep (who only uses his first name), told TOI that people were told they would be given the vaccine later. “The health workers said there was a vaccine shortage and we would get the shots later. But it has been more than a month and we still haven’t got our dose,” he said.Another resident Madhuri Devi said whenever people brought up the matter with Asha workers, they were assured that they would get their vaccination soon. “The workers had given us certificates and said that they have to complete their targets,” she said.Authorities, however, dismissed the allegations. “Over 4 lakh people have been vaccinated in the district till date. It is hard to believe that certificates were issued to some people without administering vaccines. Still, we will look into the matter,” said Mainpuri district magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh.Chief medical officer (CMO) Prempal Singh added that he was unaware of this incident but would inquire into it. “Strict action will be taken against those found guilty,” he said. In June, a man in Noida received a Covid vaccination certificate without taking the vaccine.Uttar Pradesh has administered a total of over 5.5 crore doses of the Covid vaccine since the start of its inoculation campaign, according to data available on CoWin portal. UP aims to administer a total of 10 crore doses by August 31.