Covid scare in India: How to book booster shot via CoWIN, step-by-step guide

Covid scare is back in India after a few cases of new sub-variant BF.7 were reported in the country. The new BF.7 strain is a highly infectious Omicron sub-variant which has led to strict restrictions in China. The Centre is closely monitoring the situation in China and state governments have implemented several measures to keep the citizens safe. Although the governments have advised people not to panic and follow the guideline issued by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), there's a sudden surge in the bookings for booster dose against Covid-19.

The Indian government started administering the booster dose to citizens earlier this year via both government and private hospitals. Although the Covid jab was free of cost in many vaccination centres across the country, very few opted to get a booster jab as there was a sudden dip in the Covid-19 cases at that time. With the rising cases of the sub-variant across the world, Indians are rushing to get the 3rd Covid jab to avoid another wave. If you are also planning to get a booster jab against Covid, you can follow the steps below to book your 3rd Covid jab via CoWIN:

1. Open CoWIN portal - www.cowin.gov.in
2. Login by entering your registered mobile number and the OTP.
3. On the next page, you will be able to see details of your previous jabs. Click on the Schedule option next to precautionary dose.
4. Find the nearest vaccination centre either by using PIN Code or State and District.
5. Pick the date and time as per the availability
6. Click on the confirm button.

Please note that vaccination slots are updated by state vaccination centres and private hospitals everyday at 8AM, 12PM, 4PM and 8PM. All people aged 12 years or above are eligible for the booster dose and you are only allowed 20 searches within 15 minutes. Overuse of search can lead to a 24 hours ban for your account.