PM Modi no longer visible on CoWin certificates for COVID-19 vaccination, Health Ministry responds

New Delhi: Amid the controversy related to the potential side effects of Covishield vaccination, the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who prominently featured in the CoWIN certificates for COVID-19 vaccinations over the past few years has been removed.

The certificate issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare now contains only the words of the Prime Minister 'Together, India will defeat Covid-19' and not his photo. Earlier, along with this caption, the Prime Minister's picture was also in the certificate.

The removal of the Prime Minister's image comes in the backdrop of the controversy regarding the potential side effects of Covishield vaccination. AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of the vaccine admitted to the UK High Court that potential side effects like Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), a rare condition involving blood clotting may occur in those who have been injected with the CoviShield vaccine.

Also read- AstraZeneca Admits 'Very Rare' Side Effect Of COVID Vaccine In UK Court

Many people in the United Kingdom who have experienced health problems after receiving the vaccine have taken legal action. In the UK High Court, 51 cases have been filed by individuals claiming that the vaccine caused deaths and serious health problems.

According to an article published in The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, AstraZeneca acknowledged in a legal document filed with the High Court in London in February that their COVID-19 vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, could potentially lead to TTS in extremely uncommon instances. This admission was made concerning a group action lawsuit involving 51 claimants.

Worried about the potential cause of the vaccinations, many Indians started inspecting their vaccination certificates and discovered that the recently downloaded vaccination certificates no longer show the image of Narendra Modi. 

Following this, the citizens took to microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) and pointed out the issue. Social media user Sandeep Manudhane also confirmed the disappearance of Modi's photo by cross-checking the certificates. 

Sharing a picture of the Covid-19 vaccine certificate, he wrote in a post “Modi ji no more visible on Covid Vaccine certificates. Just downloaded to check - yes, his pic is gone."

Another social media user, Santosh Iyer, also said the same, “Yes, you are correct. I checked and find that Modi's photo is no longer visible on the covid vaccination certificates ! Ha!Ha!Ha!

“Yes, I just checked and PM Modi’s photo has disappeared and there is only a QR code instead of his photo,” wrote Irfan Ali, another user who identified himself as a Congress functionary.

Responding to the sudden change and the disappearance of Modi's image in the certificate, officials from the health department told ThePrint on Tuesday that this was due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) being in place for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

According to the PTI report, this is not the first instance of Modi's photo being excluded from vaccination certificates, with the most recent occurrence in 2022 when Modi's photo was removed from vaccination certificates distributed in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa at the direction of the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of assembly elections in those states.

Medical Dialogues team in 2021 had reported that the Election Commission asked the health ministry to follow the provisions of the poll code in letter and spirit against the backdrop of a complaint by the Trinamool Congress that the picture of the prime minister on COVID-19 vaccination certificates violates the model code. 

A source said the health ministry may have to use filters so that the picture of the prime minister is not printed on certificates given to those who take the COVID-19 vaccine in poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

Also read- PM Modi Pic On Vaccine Certificates: Election Commission Asks Health Ministry To Follow Poll Code Provisions