This screenshot of the video shows government officials allegedly faking the Covid-19 vaccination process. Karnataka Health Minister Dr Sudhakar on Friday denied allegations of ‘fake vaccination’ of two health officials in Tumkur after a video of them posing for cameras went viral.
“They (the health officials) in Tumkur had already taken the vaccine. They posed for pictures later on the request of photographers there who missed it when they were administered the vaccine. There is no need to exaggerate the issue,” Sudhakar said.
Several netizens shared the 43-second video, claiming the recipient were “faking” the vaccination process. One of them tweeted, “In Tumkur District officials fake it before camera, pretending to take Covid Vaccine, why this fake promotion????? Where there is BJP there is Fraud.”
The post was shared by many, including leaders of opposition parties who questioned the ruling BJP in Karnataka and at the Centre. Among them was Congress leader Salam Nizami, who tweeted the video with a note that read, “Would the government care to clarify this? Is this fake immunization Syringe or photo op or something that we don’t understand? Dear Modi ji — kindly throw some gyaan…?”
Would the government care to clarify this? Is this fake immunization 💉 or photo op or something that we don’t understand? Dear Modi ji — kindly throw some gyaan…? pic.twitter.com/LsoKeu7KJN
— Salman Nizami (@SalmanNizami_) January 21, 2021
Those featured in the video — Dr Rajani M and Tumkur District Health Officer Nagendrappa — also clarified that they took the jab. Dr Rajani said, “I had registered on the (CoWin) portal and took the vaccine on the (January) 16th itself. Some media people requested me to pose for a visual after which I sat on the chair. It is very painful to get trolled unnecessarily. People should not spread rumours but send good wishes to others instead.”
Nagendrappa said, “The media was in a hurry to leave after covering our vaccination. Hence, we finally decided to pose for some pictures which were wrongfully recorded and shared online without the real context.”
‘Over 1.38 lakh people inoculated so far’
As many as 1,38,656 people across Karnataka have been inoculated so far, the health minister said on Friday. “While some have reported side effects, there has been on casualty,” he said.
Sharing data on the vaccination drive, Sudhakar said, “Covishield has been administered to 1,36,882 and Covaxin to 1,774 people, so far. Only 2 to 3.5 per cent of the recipients have developed some sort of side effects. A total of 8,47,908 lakh people have registered for vaccination in the first phase, including 3,27,201 government and 4,45,389 private health warriors, he added.
The minister informed that the state expects to receive another 1,46,240 doses of Covaxin for the first phase of inoculation.
