Co-WIN for officials, portal for public, says Govt

The Union Health Ministry said on Monday that the Co-WIN app on Play Store is meant for use only by administrators, and that registration and booking for appointment for COVID-19 vaccination has to be done through the portal.

This was clarified by the ministry amid reported glitches in doing registrations as India opened up vaccination for senior citizens and those aged 45 and above with comorbidities. “Registration and booking for appointment for #COVID19 vaccination is to be done through #CoWIN Portal: www.cowin.gov.in. There is

NO #CoWIN App for beneficiary registration. The App on Play

Store is for administrators only,” the ministry tweeted.

The government had announced that everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities will be able to get COVID-19 vaccine from March 1 for free at government facilities and for a charge at many private hospitals. Citizens can register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal www.cowin.gov.in or through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu. There is also walk-in provision for beneficiaries to get themselves registered at nearby site to get vaccinated, it said.

The eligible beneficiaries can choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available. All citizens that are aged or will attain the age of 60 or more as on January 1, 2022, are eligible to register, in addition to all such citizens that are aged or will attain the age of 45 to 59 years as on January 1, 2022, and have any of the specified 20 comorbidities.

Citizens can register at the CoWIN portal through their mobile number. A one time password (OTP) verification will be done prior to registration to ensure veracity of the mobile number and after registration, an account will be created on CoWIN for the person. The citizen can delete only beneficiaries as have been added by him/ her. If the age of the beneficiary is from 45 to 59 years, the beneficiary will be prompted to confirm if he/she has any specified comorbidity. In such cases, the beneficiary will also be advised to bring the comorbidity certificate signed by a Registered Medical Practitioner.

The eligible beneficiaries can choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available