Objectives: Health systems are shifting from traditional methods of healthcare delivery to delivery using digital applications. This change was introduced at a primary care centre in Chandigarh, India that served a marginalised population. After establishing the digital health system, we explored stakeholders’ perceptions regarding its implementation. Methods: Ethnographic methods were used to explore stakeholders’ perceptions regarding the implementation of the Integrated Health Information System for Primary Health Care (IHIS4PHC), which was developed as a patient-centric digital health application. Data were collected using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Participatory observations were made of day-to-day activities including outpatient visits, outreach field visits, and methods of health practice. The collected information was analysed using thematic coding. Results: Healthcare workers highlighted that working with the digital health system was initially arduous, but they later realised its usefulness, as the digital system made it easier to search records and generate reports, rapidly providing evidence to make decisions. Auxiliary nurse midwives reported that recording information on computers saved time when generating reports; however, systematic and mandatory data entry made recording tedious. Staff were apprehensive about the use of computer-based data for monitoring their work performance. Patients appreciated that their previous records were now available on the computer for easy retrieval. Conclusions The usefulness of the digital health application was appreciated by various primary healthcare stakeholders. Barriers persisted due to perceived needs for flexibility in delivering healthcare services, and apprehensions continued because of increased transparency, accountability, and dependence on computers and digital technicians.

Objectives: The most commonly used vaccine in India, Covishield, is a recombinant adenovirus vector vaccine for which safety data in pregnant women are not available. The present study was conducted to assess the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and monitor adverse events following COVID-19 immunization among pregnant women in northern India.Patients and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among pregnant women registered with the antenatal clinics in Chandigarh Union Territory (U.T.) in northern India. The study included 247 pregnant women and a comparative group of age-matched, non-pregnant women (247) who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and were followed up by telephone interviews for adverse events following immunization at three time points until 28 days after vaccination. Multivariate regression (logistic and linear) was used for the adjusted analysis, with adverse events following immunization and the duration of adverse events following immunization as the outcomes.Results: The COVID-19 vaccination uptake rate was 66.8% among the pregnant women. The 28-day incidence rate of adverse events following immunization among the pregnant women was 76.5%. The overall 28-day incidence of adverse events following immunization in pregnant women did not differ significantly from that of non-pregnant women (P=0.153).Conclusion: The Covishield vaccine is safe for pregnant women in India. Further follow-up of the cohort for feto-maternal outcomes needs to be conducted with an adequate sample size to confirm the overall safety profile of the vaccine.