A dry run for covid-19 vaccination begun around all states and union territories on January 2 to check the linkages. A portion of the population will soon get their first shot of the vaccine. Preparations for vaccine center dosing, logistics requirements, and other plans are now in full swing.
The top drug regulator in the world, DCGI, has approved Oxford’s Covishield COVID-19 vaccine and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for limited emergency use.
Union Minister of Health Dr Harsh Vardhan recently declared that vaccination for priority group beneficiaries in all states would be free in its first step. “I advise people not to be fooled by rumors about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Before authorizing a vaccine, we will not compromise on any procedure,” Vardhan said, stressing that vaccine hesitation was a problem even when the country began the drive for polio immunization, but we must remember its success.
Here’s everything you need to know about India’s biggest vaccination drive and how to register yourself as a beneficiary:
Who will get the vaccine first
Healthcare workers
One crore health staff working with both government and private hospitals will be first in the line to be inoculated, according to the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).
As frontline personnel, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers, nurses and managers, paramedical staff, medical officers, support staff, and medical students, the priority category was further divided into sub-categories.
All data has been obtained from health care facilities and is being uploaded into Co-WIN, the digitalized portal for the Covid Vaccine Delivery System process to be used efficiently to carry out and scale-up.
Frontline workers
Two crore frontline personnel working with central and state police, armed forces, civil defense organization, disaster management, home guard, jail officers, municipal employees, Covid-19 surveillance revenue officials and other related operations.
In the first level, workers affiliated with state government and ministries of defense, urban affairs, and housing will also be vaccinated.
People aged above 50 years
This group would be further divided into individuals over 60 years of age and individuals above 50 years of age with co-morbidities. The new electoral roll of elections to the Assembly or Lok Sabha will be used as a guide to recognizing immunization populations.
Based on the cut-off date of 1 January 2021, age will be determined and anyone born on or before 1 January 1971 will fall under this group.
Areas that report a high infection rate of Covid-19
At their discretion, states and UTs will enforce vaccine priority phases in geographical areas where the infection is high.
Remaining Population
A population below 50 years of age with related comorbidities focused on the changing pandemic situation such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, lung diseases, etc., and eventually on the epidemiology of the disease and the availability of vaccines to the remaining population.
How to register for vaccination at the session site
Common Service Centres must be used for the general population’s self-registration and identification certification. In the later phases of implementation, the self-registration module will be made available.
Individuals can choose the authentication method from the methods below.
Biometric: The platform will autofill with this demographic information of the person from the name to a permanent address in the Aadhaar card.
OTP Authentication: An OTP will be sent with an Aadhaar card to the registered mobile number. If the OTP authentication is successful, the individual’s demographic information according to the Aadhaar will auto-populate.
Demographic authentication: A person can also manually enter all demographic data, i.e. Name, DoB, gender, and pick Authenticate Demo. A green tick tends to affirm that it is the same.
A person interested in registering will be required to include one of the following for photo identification: Aadhaar Card, Driving License, Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, MNREGA Job Card, Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs, PAN Card, Passbook issued by Bank/Post Office, Passport, Pension Document, Service Identity Card issued to employees by Central/State Govt./PSUs/ Public Limited Companies, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, Voter ID.
You can either upload the photo identity to the Co-WIN system (in PDF, JPG, or PNG file formats) or pull it from the current Digi Locker account of the individual file formats.
When enrolled, the date and time for vaccination will be assigned. No spot registration facility will be available and only pre-registered beneficiaries will be allowed to vaccinate.
With the help of the District Immunization Officer, District Collector (DC)/District Magistrate (DM) will connect the sites of the sessions, vaccinators, supervisors, and beneficiaries and determine the dates and times for conducting the vaccination session. The beneficiaries will be certified by the respective district administration for the session and site allocation. Co-WIN has integrated processes for tracking and reporting.