The Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has issued a clarification that the Covid vaccine registration for citizens above 18 years will begin only from April 28.
In a tweet, the Ministry of Health said that the CoWIN platform and the Aarogya Sethu app will be made ready for those above 18 years by April 24. “It is clarified that #CoWin portal will be made ready for 18+ beneficiaries by 24th April. Registrations for 18+ citizens to book appointments (from 1st May) will begin on 28th April,” the tweet said.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority (NHA) RS Sharma said that apart from the indigenous vaccines Covaxin and Covishield, Russian vaccine Sputnik V will also be included as an option at some centres.
Sharma urged people to register and book an appointment first before turning up to get vaccinated. Citizens can register to get vaccinated through the CoWIN portal by registering through their phone numbers, after which an OTP is sent to their phone for first step verification.
All citizens aged above 18 will be eligible for vaccination starting May 1. This will be phase 3 of the vaccination drive in India, which started on January 15. The drive, which began on January 16, allows on-site registrations, apart from those done through CoWin. Currently, only citizens above the age of 45 were allowed to take the vaccine. On Monday, the Centre made all adults eligible for the jab from May 1 and also allowed sales of vaccine to private players.
Meanwhile, India breaks another grim milestone on Thursday when it reported the world's highest daily tally of 3,14,835 new Covid-19 cases and a record 2,104 deaths in 24 hours
