A COVID vaccine scam has surfaced in Mumbai following the arrest of four persons in the city after discrepancies were detected in the vaccination certificate, hospital’s name and vaccination dates. Questions are now being raised about whether the original vaccine was given to the people.
The cases initially coming from one housing society have now been reported from elsewhere in the city. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun an inquiry into a private vaccination drive held two weeks back at a Kandivali society, where residents claimed they were cheated.
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Reports said a marketing executive attached with the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) along with an official of a local medical association and an events management company had reached out to the housing society claiming to offer vaccination on behalf of the private hospital.
On May 30, 390 residents participated in a “vaccination” drive in Hiranandani Heritage society, paying Rs 1,260 per dose. When their certificates came after 10 days, the residents noticed that the date of vaccination and name of hospitals were different.
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Reports said the Hiranandani Heritage Residents’ Welfare Association filed a complaint with Kandivali police earlier this week. On June 16, the BMC issued a notice to the society to provide details of vaccination, the MoU signed with the hospital and registration form sent to the BMC before the drive.
The residents said the housing society had not signed any MoU and the drive was not registered with the BMC. The society reportedly paid Rs 4.91 lakh in cash to the “organizer” at the vaccination site.
Residents said when none of them suffered any adverse event, they tried to access the vaccination certificate from CoWIN. The certificate generated on CoWIN showed the first dose has been administered, but the certificates carried names of other hospitals. In most cases, the first dose and name of the recipient does not reflect on CoWIN portal.
Meanwhile, at least two production houses have reported a similar scam.