MP man gets message 13-yr-old son vaccinated on day of record COVID-19 vaccination

Bhopal: On June 21 (Monday), Madhya Pradesh administered 16,73,858 COVID-19 vaccine doses, the highest ever among states in the country in a single day so far. But, just days after the record number of vaccinations a number of “beneficiaries” have come up with complaints that they received vaccination certificates without getting even a single dose of the vaccine. Among them, the most shocking case is that of a 13-year-old boy whose father got a message about his son receiving the COVID-19 vaccine jab. This is because India is yet to begin vaccinating children under 18.

Speaking to NDTV, the 13-year-old boy, Vedant Dangre’s father Rajat Dangre said, “On 21st (June), at 7.27 pm, I received a message saying Vedant is vaccinated. He is just 13 years old. I tried to raise a complaint but it was of no use. When I downloaded the certificate using the link, I was shocked to find out they have used his documents which I submitted a few days back to the Municipal corporation for his pension (as a person with special needs).” He further added that in the message, his son’s age was mentioned as 56.

It’s not only the Dangres but there are a number of beneficiaries who were shocked and confused upon receiving messages of getting vaccinated even without actually getting the shot. Like Rajat Dangre, Chainendra Pandey from Satna, received not one but three messages within five minutes saying three people he did not know – Katikram, Kalindri, and Chandan – had been vaccinated. Pandey, 52, said, “Three messages within five minutes. Just the name is different. I have not got any vaccine to date.”

Meanwhile, a 46-year-old woman from Bhopal also got the message of getting the vaccine on June 21. Following the message, the worried woman said, “I got a message on 21st night at 10:57 that ‘you have got the vaccine’ while I am not vaccinated yet, I am worried about how I will get the vaccine now.”

Reacting to the complaints raised by these beneficiaries, the opposition Congress party slammed the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government and said these cases clearly showed how inadequate data was provided to claim credit for a record-breaking number of vaccinations in a single day.

“New figures are coming out every day. The vaccine was given to a 13-year-old child and a dead person. Forty-seven villages in Betul did not get the vaccine. This vaccine record is nothing but a PR gimmick,” Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said.