Walk-in registration for jabs opens for all adults
Facility restricted to government Covid vaccination centres for 18-44 age group, says health ministry
NEW DELHI: The Union government on Monday allowed states to open on-site registration and appointments for adults below the age of 45 seeking coronavirus vaccines, after repeated calls to abandon the digital-only system that critics said was leaving out people who did not have access to smartphones or the internet.
The feature at present is being enabled only for government vaccination centres, the health ministry said, and it will depend on the state government to decide whether they want to allow on-site registrations. Vaccines for the younger adult age group became available from May 1 but the demand soon surpassed supplies, exhausting stops and halting the drive in several states.
“…based on the various representations given by the states and inputs received by Union health ministry for the vaccination of 18-44 year age group, the Union government has now decided to provide facility of on-site registration/facilitated cohort registration on CO-WIN digital platform for 18-44 years age group,” the statement said.
The statement noted that “even though CO-WIN provides for features such as registration