India recently began its second phase of Covid-19 vaccination, and this time, the government is focusing on vaccinating more than 10 crore citizens. For this the government has launched CoWIN portal for corona vaccine registration. During the first phase of the vaccination drive, the ministry of health was able to give shots to over 1.5 crore people. The COVID 19 vaccine updates India shows that by increasing the vaccination numbers, a herding immunity will be created for those people who have not yet been vaccinated and thereby reduce the spread of the virus.
In the recent vaccine updates, the government’s focus is to increase reach beyond frontline workers. To do this, the government decided to use the CoWIN web portal for corona vaccine registration that will be used by those who are eligible to receive the vaccination.. Besides going to the web portal, eligible citizens can also do the corona vaccine registration at the Aarogya Setu app, which is integrated with CoWIN. The CoWIN registrations will start from March 1st, and they will be open each day up to 3 p.m.
Eligibility for vaccination
According to the latest vaccine news, to take part in the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination, you need to be more than 60 years of age or be aged between 45 to 59 years with specified comorbidities. The 20 comorbidities that will be covered during the vaccination drive include:
- Heart failure in the past year that resulted in hospital admission
- Left Ventricular systolic dysfunction
- Valvular heart disease
- Left Ventricular Assist Device (LAVD) or a Post Cardiac transplant
- Congenital heart disease accompanies by severe PAH or Idiopathic PAH
- Diabetes/hypertension or Angina conditions
- Coronary Artery Disease with a history of PTCA/CABG/MI, diabetes/hypertension
- MRI/CT stroke accompanied with diabetes or hypertension treatment
- Diabetes that has prevailed for more than a decade or with known complications accompanied by hypertension
- Pulmonary artery hypertension accompanied by diabetes and hypertension
- A kidney disease that is in the final stages
- Liver/kidney/hematopoietic stem cell transplant
- Decompensated cirrhosis
- Long term use of oral corticosteroids or immunosuppressant medications
- Leukemia, myeloma, or lymphoma
- Severe respiratory illness with hospitalization for the past two years
- Cancer diagnosis after 1st July 2020 or in cancer therapy
- Bone marrow failure, sickle cell disease, thalassemia major or aplastic anemia
- HIV infection or primary Immunodeficiency diseases
- People with specific types of disabilities
Steps for CoWIN registration
- Go to the CoWIN portal or the Aarogya Setu app. These are the only two places where you can register. According to the latest vaccine update in India, the CoWIN app on Playstore is no longer being used for registration.
- The second step is to key in your mobile number and then select the One Time Password (OTP). Once you have the OTP, enter it into your mobile phone and then verify your details.
- If you are using the Aarogya Setu app, you should go to the CoWIN tab and select the vaccination selection. You should then proceed from there.
- After following the above steps, a registration page will appear on your screen. To register, you need to key in the details of your ID, the number, and your full name. The other details that are needed are gender and age.
- You should then go ahead to click the registration button. This step will only work if the person that you are registering for is a senior citizen. You also need to acknowledge if the person whom you are registering for has any comorbidity. Senior citizens who are aged above 45 years to 60 years need to take a medical certificate with them during the appointment. Once the registration is complete, a confirmation message will be delivered to your mobile number.
- Once the registration is over, you will see your account details on the portal. You are allowed to add up to four more people on the account, who are also linked with the registered mobile number.
- On each name that you have added to your account, you will notice another column that is titled ‘Action” below this column, you will notice a calendar icon that you can use to book an appointment. To make a booking, you will need to provide extra details such as state, district, pin code, and block. These details will help you search for the vaccination centers that are in your location.
- Select the centers that are available and see the dates when they will be offering vaccination. Choose the date that will be convenient to you, and then click ‘book’. You will then be prompted to confirm all your appointment details. If the details are correct, you should click ‘confirm,’ and if they are not, you should click ‘cancel’. You can save and later download all the details regarding your corona vaccine registration.
- If you are not able to make it to your appointment, you can log in again to the portal using your mobile number and then click on the ‘edit’ icon.
Documents needed
According to the latest India vaccine update, to make a CoWIN vaccine registration, you will need a medical certificate that can be uploaded during registration or a hardcopy that you can physically deliver at the vaccination center. This is a requirement for people who are aged between 45 years and 59 years. People who are aged above60 can present a government ID.
The cost of vaccination
According to the latest corona vaccine updates, the vaccination exercise will be free at public health facilities. However, those who go to private health facilities may be charged for the vaccination. However, the government regulated the vaccine prices in private health facilities to Rs 250 for every shot.
Where you can be vaccinated
The vaccine update in India revealed that there would be more than 10000 private facilities across the country that will be offering covid vaccination shots. Besides this, over 600 hospitals under CGHS would also be empowered under the vaccination drive to offer their services. The health ministry put out a list of all health facilities that would be providing covid vaccinations. You can get the full list from their website.
