Photo/Illutration An official from Niigata’s public health center corrects erroneous records in the government’s database of vaccination records, using information from a pre-vaccination screening questionnaire sheet, on Nov. 4. (Nen Satomi)

NIIGATA--Some people may not receive their vaccination vouchers for COVID-19 booster shots due to technological or administrative errors even if they have had their first and second jabs, municipal officials warn.

The records of some people who got their first and second doses were not correctly registered in the government’s Vaccination Record System, the database of who has been inoculated against COVID-19, local officials discovered.

Municipalities send out booster vaccination vouchers based on the records of first and second vaccinations registered in the database. But they will not send the vouchers for boosters to those who have not received their second dose, let alone those who have never had a single shot.

Officials at vaccinations sites enter the data by scanning the 18-digit numbers printed on pre-vaccination screening questionnaire sheets by using a built-in camera on designated tablets.

However, in some cases, the numbers have not been recognized correctly because officials did not hold the cameras steady enough or simply forgot to scan the numbers, among other issues.

In these instances, the database shows no vaccination record for some people who have actually been inoculated, which means they will not be sent booster vaccination vouchers.

Officials in Niigata found these cases by accident when comparing vaccination records with information on pre-vaccination screening questionnaire sheets to correct erroneous date entries.

As of Dec. 2, the municipality found at least five cases where the 18-digit numbers were not scanned properly. But an official from the city said they “have no idea” how many of these cases there actually are, so they are alerting the public of the potential problem.

The municipality will start sending out booster shot vouchers to the elderly in around January. Officials presume the error is not limited to the five cases they discovered, so they are calling on residents to contact them if they have not received their booster vouchers after the date the city is supposed to mail them out.

The central government is aware of the issue but has not taken steps to resolve the matter. The Digital Agency, which is responsible for developing the database, said it does not have an easy fix for the problem.

For example, it cannot adapt its system to recognize everyone lacking a vaccination record as an error in the database because a portion of the population has still not been inoculated.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said it is a very rare error that most people should not encounter. But if someone thinks they have been overlooked because of a data entry error, they simply need to ask their municipality to locate their pre-vaccination screening questionnaire sheets that are kept by officials, it added.

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