Next phase of vaccine drive kick-starts today

NEW DELHI: The second phase of India’s vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will begin on Monday, with the Union health ministry saying that those eligible for immunisation can register and book appointments from 9am to 3pm on March 1, as the country ramps up its battle against the infectious disease almost a year after the first cluster of cases in Delhi.

From Monday, people eligible for the next phase can walk up to a vaccination centre to be registered for a dose. The decision will allow anyone above the age of 60 and those older than 45 but with comorbidities that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19 to approach government and private hospitals for shots. While the doses will be administered for free at government facilities, private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose.

“A lot of hard work has gone into reaching this phase wherein the government is beginning to vaccinate the general population. The vaccines are absolutely safe to use and are in use not just in India but in other countries as well,” said Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.

A statement by the Union health ministry said: “There will be only one live appointment for a beneficiary at any point of time for each dose… Appointments for any date for a COVID Vaccination Center will be closed at 3pm on that day for which the slots were opened.”

For example, for March 1, the slots will be open from 9am till 3pm and the appointments can be booked anytime before then, subject to availability. However, on March 1, an appointment can also be booked for any future date for which vaccination slots are available. The registration will take place on the upgraded CO-WIN platform and also on other government-approved mobile-based applications.

“The next phase of the world’s largest vaccination drive for the age appropriate population groups will commence from 1st March 2021 (Monday). Registration will open at 9.00am on 1st March 2021 (at www.cowin.gov.in). Citizens will be able to register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the COWIN 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu etc,” the official statement said.

The immunisation drive across the country was halted for Saturday and Sunday to move to the new CO-WIN platform that will allow the self-registration of recipients.

According to the health ministry’s CO-WIN guidelines issued on Sunday, one person will be able to register only three more eligible people using their mobile number.

“With one mobile number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries. However, all those registered on one mobile number will have nothing in common except the mobile number.

The id card number for each such beneficiary must be different. A mobile number cannot be used for making more than four registrations. If one out of the four beneficiaries registered in an account is vaccinated, only three registrations are left, and so on,” said the guidelines.

An appointment can also be booked for any future date for which vaccination slots are available.