Registration for next phase of COVID-19 vaccination on Co-WIN2.0 portal to open on March 1

Citizens will be able to register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu.

A nurse fills a syringe with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo | AP)

DNEW DELHI: The registration for COVID-19 vaccination for specific groups of citizens begins from 9 am on Monday but beneficiaries will not have a choice to know the type of vaccine available at a particular vaccination centre at the time of online registration.

A nationwide scaleup of the COVID-19 vaccination drive is beginning from Monday under which people above 60 years and those between 45-59 with specific comorbidities will be covered.

In a guidance note on CoWin2.0 shared with the states, the Centre said that “vaccine type available at a CVC (COVID vaccination centre) will not be displayed to the citizens at the time of online registration” but added that jabs can be taken either by pre-booking slot or walking in at designated centres.

A CVC shall usually have only one type of vaccine throughout the vaccination drive, the document added, this is necessary to avoid mixing of vaccine types in 1st and 2nd dose of a beneficiary.

The clarification comes even as sources have indicated that in the beginning, only Covishield is likely to be available at private hospitals for which beneficiaries will require to pay Rs 250 per dose.

There are 10,000 hospitals empanelled under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, nearly 600 empanelled under the Central Government Health Scheme, those under state health insurance scheme apart from various levels of government facilities where the vaccinations will be carried out.

Meanwhile, in an orientation workshop organised by the Union health ministry and the National Health Authority, private hospitals were informed that there will be only one live appointment for a beneficiary at any point of time for each dose. Also, some centres might only be accessed through pre-bookings while others can be kept just for walk-ins and mobilised vaccinations. 

Appointments for any date for a COVID vaccination centre will be closed at 3 pm on that day for which the slots were opened. The government also maintained that the Centre will procure all the vaccines and supply them free of cost to the states who will disburse them further to the government and private facilities.

“Private hospitals are to remit the cost of vaccine doses allotted to them in a designated account of the NHA,” the government has said. 

Meanwhile the eligible persons will be able to register at the Co-WIN2.0 portal through their mobile number, through a step-by-step process. With one mobile number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries.

Box Input on the registration process

• Any person will be able to register at the COWIN portal through their mobile number.
• OTP verification will be done prior to registration to ensure veracity of the mobile number
• After registration, an account will be created on COWIN for the person. The person can access their account on COWIN using the mobile phone number used at the time of registration.
• Features for adding beneficiaries, editing their details and for booking appointments will be available in the citizen’s account
• With one mobile number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries, however, the ID Card Number for each such beneficiary must be different
• The beneficiary then selects the ID card type and provides ID Card number
• If the age of the beneficiary is from 45 years to 59 years, the beneficiary will be prompted to confirm if they have any specified comorbidity in which case, they will need to carry a certificate 
• Once all the necessary details are recorded by the beneficiary, registration is completed and an acknowledgement slip will be sent to the beneficiary on his registered mobile number.
• A COVID-19 Vaccination Time Table for each Vaccination Center will be published for every district
• Any beneficiary will be able to choose and book a slot for vaccination at the centres declared in the VTT, anytime and anywhere, based on their preference (subject to availability of slots)
• The second dose will also be scheduled at the same centre on the 29th day of the date of appointment of the 1st dose
• The beneficiary will have the option to change the slot for the 2nd dose in the period 29th day to 42nd day of the first dose in certain conditions.