New Delhi: The second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive began Monday morning. This phase of the campaign will target 10 crore people above the ages of 60 and those above 45 years who have comorbidities.
On Sunday, the health ministry released a user manual for “Citizen Registration and Appointment for Vaccination”. Unlike the first phase of the drive that only catered to healthcare professionals and frontline workers, individuals have the option to register and schedule the sessions themselves in the second phase.
Private hospitals have also been involved in the second phase, and a list of the approved centres can be accessed on the health ministry’s website.
How to register for vaccination?
According to the user guidelines, one phone number can be used to register a maximum of four persons. “However, except for the mobile number, the beneficiaries will have nothing else in common,” the health ministry said in a statement. Beneficiaries can register by logging on to the CoWin portal.
Registration can be done using mobile number and approved photo IDs such as Aadhaar, voter card, passport, driving licence, PAN, NPR smart card, and pension documents with a photograph.
Additional details like the date of birth, gender and comorbidities will also have to be provided for registration. Once they have registered, the individuals can add three more beneficiaries who will be linked to the same mobile number.
All details for the additional beneficiaries will have to be provided too, and individuals also have the option of deleting a beneficiary.
After registering on the portal, the individual can choose from the available time slots at the nearby vaccination centres. Slots can be booked at vaccination centres by state, district, block and pin code from drop-down menus.
People above 45 years of age with comorbidities must also carry a medical certificate at the time of vaccination. The government Saturday released a list of 20 comorbidities that qualify a person for vaccination.
According to the guidelines, “once the appointment is fixed, it can be rescheduled at any later stage but before the vaccination appointment day”. In order to do this, beneficiaries have to select the ‘reschedule appointment’ icon (a calendar icon under the Action column) and then select a new slot.
“Once Vaccinated for the 1st Dose, the Citizen will be automatically scheduled appointment for dose 2 for the same centre of receiving the first dose of vaccination,” the guidelines say.
In case the beneficiary has moved to another place, the slot can be rescheduled to the nearest centre in that city or town.
Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram
Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it
India needs free, fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism even more as it faces multiple crises.
But the news media is in a crisis of its own. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism is shrinking, yielding to crude prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the finest young reporters, columnists and editors working for it. Sustaining journalism of this quality needs smart and thinking people like you to pay for it. Whether you live in India or overseas, you can do it here.