The decision of employees of a Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan here to display exhaustive personal details of those on the priority list for jabs has created a furore in the hills.
For around two weeks, the the centre has been bringing out a daily list of frontline Covid warriors and potential super spreaders with detailed personal information including name, the district they belong to, their job profile, PIN code of the workplace, gender, date of birth, age, mobile number, identification document being used and Aadhaar card number. The list is pasted outside the building.
This “breach of privacy” has left many fuming. “I am not comfortable with my phone number and Aadhaar card details being displayed in public,” said a woman whose name was on the list.
An employee at the centre said they brought out the list based on information provided by government offices “so that people can easily find out if their names are in the priority group for vaccination on a particular day”.
The state government has been prioritising vaccination of those who could be potential “super spreaders” such as medical professionals, hawkers, mediapersons, labourers, among others.
The health department is under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration but the list of priority groups is also prepared at the district magistrate’s office. The decision to display the list with personal details however seems to be an arrangement by employees at this specific centre. Other jab centres have not displayed such details.
A senior district official conceded so many personal details should not have been published. “We will issue suitable instructions,” he said.