Arijit Ghosh, a staff of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), got the shock of his life amid the Covid-19 threat when he received his Covid vaccination certificate this morning.
Much to his chagrin, Mr Ghosh, a resident of Khadimpur Masterpara in Balurghat, found out that the certificate he printed out showed that he had been given two doses of two different vaccines.
“The certificate showed that I was given Covishield for the first dose, and Covaxin for the second. My family members are in a state of panic,” Mr Ghosh said.
However, health officials said Mr Ghosh will not have any problems even if the vaccines were different. They said the problem in the certificate can come up when someone tries to take the vaccine without furnishing proper identification or documents.
According to sources, Mr Ghosh said he got the first dose of the vaccine on 27 April, while the second dose was given on 6 June at the Balurghat Hospital.
“Though both the does were administered on Mr Ghosh, he still had been receiving messages on his mobile phone, which said that it was time for his second dose,” the source said. When contacted, South Dinajpur district health officials failed to say how the two vaccine names appeared in the certificate.
“Mr Ghosh may not have followed the proper process and may not have furnished proper documents and information when he took the shots,” a health official said. According to the Balurghat Block Medical Officer of Health, Arpan Sarkar, said he had not received any such complaint so far.
“It is difficult to say anything without first verifying the certificate. Certificates are not usually like that. There will, however, be no physical problem on the recipient even if the doses are actually different. However, it is difficult to say whether the vaccines will work to boost the immunity as they are supposed to. Such problems may arise if one fails to furnish the right information at the time of vaccination. We have been arranging for separate lines for Covishield and Covaxin. We will look into the matter,” Dr Sarkar said.