Hindustan Times (Noida)

Govt to allow people over 60 to self-register for jabs

- Deeksha Bhardwaj letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: People aged above 60 years and those with other serious illnesses that increase their vulnerabil­ity to Covid will be allowed to self-register and choose where they want to get vaccinated for Covid-19 from March 1, an official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, detailing one part of the government’s plans to accelerate the immunisati­on process.

An upgraded mobile applicatio­n designed for the vaccinatio­n drive will also allow users who are travelling to pick a different centre, if necessary, to be administer­ed the second dose of the vaccine.

The government plans to increase the number of vaccinatio­ns against the coronaviru­s disease to 5 million a day in the next four to six weeks, HT reported on Monday.

The move is meant to speed up the process when the next and the largest cohort of vaccine recipients — members of the general public who are at greater risk of infection because of their age and existing illnesses — begin to be covered. The first phase covered health-care workers and frontline personnel such as municipal employees and civil defence volunteers.

The second phase of the vaccinatio­n will also include armed forces and police personnel. The government earlier decided that people over 50 would be allowed to register, but it has since decided to priregistr­ation. oritise those aged over 60 years as they are at perceived to be at greater risk.

“The government wants to prioritise those at risk, so first those over 60 will be allowed to register,” said an official in the ministry of electronic­s and informatio­n technology, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official added the Aadhaar will not be mandatory for “People can use any ID to register. They just have to make sure that they carry the same proof when they go for vaccinatio­n.”

Vaccinatio­n certificat­es will be made available across government platforms such as CO-WIN and Digilocker. The option of registerin­g on contact tracing app Aarogya Setu is also likely as the platforms will be integrated with the CO-WIN app, according to an internal note circulated on CO-WIN.

“The government is also considerin­g whether or not private hospitals offering the vaccinatio­n should be shown on the applicatio­n ... that way, the user will have more options,” the official said.

A senior government official, requesting anonymity, said, “It was decided at the planning stages itself that above 50 years category will be sub-divided into two categories with preference given to those above 60 years of age...”

Dr MC Misra, former director, AIIMS, Delhi, said, “It is good that the vaccinatio­n drive began with health care workers as the app is new, and it helps to start with a smaller number to see if it is working fine or not. Once that test is passed then scaling up can happen in no time.”

THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO PRIORITISE THOSE AGED OVER 60 AS THEY ARE AT PERCEIVED TO BE AT GREATER RISK, OFFICIALS SAID

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