The do to list for Covid-19 vaccination that begins on Monday

The coming Monday sees the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination in India while its first phase drive had begun on January 16 this year, in which healthcare and frontline workers have been said to be vaccinated.

The vaccination will take place at around 10,000 government facilities where it will be free of cost while in private hospitals it may cost Rs.20,000. On who is eligible for the vaccine in the second phase, the health ministry is focussing on people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with comorbidities.

Now let us understand what is comorbid disease first.

Comorbid conditions means occurring of one or two illness or diseases in a person at the same time. And both can cause the worsening of health conditions. It roughly includes heart ailments, diabetes, hyper tension, sleep-apnoea, anxiety disorders, dyslipidaemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases such as congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease, kidney disease, depression and obesity4, etc. Please note that for persons with co-morbidity issues, a medical certificate will also be required while they register and/ or go for the vaccination. Additionally, however, the government may issue a form with co-morbidity details mentioned. A prospective beneficiary will have to fill it and get signed by a doctor after an examination. This may make a situation complex though.

On how to register, the government has launched a digital platform called CoWin. It is an app on which the aspirant has to self-register with one account and mention his/her mobile number and mention his/her id proof. The recipient selected would be informed the date and the timings via message (SMS). This should be recalled that the app created a whole lot of issues across India in the first phase where people did not receive the sms on time. The efficacy of the app, therefore cannot be verified yet, till it starts functioning from March 1.

However, the option for self-registration will not be limited to online channels only. For those not well versed with technical world, and do not know how to use the CoWin app, there will be registration windows open in hospitals. There will be no charge for physical on window registration. The government officials have also declared that a new version of the Co-WIN app will also be launched soon, where everyone would be able to register for vaccination.

A photo ID will be required to register for those above 60 years of age while a medical certificate for patients with co-morbidity issues, will also be required. These documents will have to be produced during vaccination. For the vaccination that starts from Monday, there will be booked as well as open slots.

Notably, India has two coronavirus vaccine candidates-- Covishield and COVAXIN which has received emergency use authorisation from the national drugs regulator. While the Union Health Ministry says more than 1.30 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered, the Centre has estimated that this priority group is approximately around 27 crores in India.