1.28 L over 60-yr-olds get 1st dose of COVID vaccine

March 2, 2021 94 Views No Comment

New Delhi, March 2 (PTI): A total of 1,28,630 beneficiaries over 60 years of age and 18,850 aged 45 and above with co-morbidities took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to a provisional report of the Union health ministry as the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 1.47 crore.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with the inoculation of healthcare workers, while the vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from Monday for those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 1.47 crore on Monday, the ministry said.

The ministry said that 25 lakh potential beneficiaries registered on the Co-Win portal http://cowin.gov.in since the registration opened up at 9 am on Monday.

Out of this, 24.5 lakh are citizens and the rest are HCWs and FLWs. About 6.44 lakh appointments were booked by the citizen beneficiaries on Monday.

“A total of 1,47,28,569 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till Monday 7 pm.

“These include 66,95,665 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 25,57,837 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose, 53,27,587 FLWs (1st dose), 1,28,630 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 18,850 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities,” the ministry said.

It further said that 4,27,072 vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Monday, the forty-fifth day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination.

Out of these, 3,25,485 beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 1,01,587 HCWs received the second dose of the vaccine as per the provisional report, the ministry said, adding the final report would be completed for the day by late night.

Vaccines provided at government health facilities are entirely free of cost, while private facilities cannot charge the beneficiary a sum above Rs 250 per person per dose (Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs 100 as operational charges).

Citizens can register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal www.cowin.gov.in or through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu.

There is also a walk-in provision for beneficiaries to get themselves registered at the nearby session site to get vaccinated.

The eligible beneficiaries can choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available.

Citizens can register at the Co-WIN portal through their mobile number, according to a guidance document issued by the ministry.

An OTP verification will be done prior to registration to ensure veracity of the mobile number and after registration, an account will be created on Co-WIN for the person.

The person can access (login) his/her account on Co-WIN using the mobile phone number used at the time of registration. Features for adding beneficiaries, editing their details and for booking appointment(s) will be available in the citizen’s account, the document stated.

The citizen can delete only the beneficiaries as have been added by him/her.

“If one out of the four beneficiaries registered in an account is vaccinated, only three registrations are left, and so on.

“Till the time of vaccination, all the records of registration and appointment can be edited/deleted by the person making the registration. Only when a person gets vaccinated, the record is locked and cannot be edited/deleted,” the document stated.

The beneficiary then has to select the ID card type and provide ID card number.

The photo ID card number for each such beneficiary must be different. Either of the following photo identity documents can be used by citizens for availing online registration — Aadhaar card/letter, Electoral Photo Identity Card, passport, driving licence, PAN card, NPR smart card or pension document with a photograph.

If the age of the beneficiary is from 45 years to 59 years, the beneficiary will be prompted to confirm if he/she has any specified comorbidity. In such cases, the beneficiary will also be advised to bring the comorbidity certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner.

Once all the necessary details are recorded by the beneficiary, registration is completed and an acknowledgement (registration slip/token) is sent to beneficiary on his registered mobile number. The facility for downloading and printing etc has also been made available.