Check out how to get a vaccine from next Monday if you are above 45 years old:
The second vaccine drive is about to start. A signed medical certificate attesting to the severity of the illness will be required of people who are over 45 and looking to get Covid vaccination in the second phase.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the second phase of vaccination would begin March 1, with priority for those over 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities. He said around 27 crore people would be vaccinated in this stage, of whom around 10 crores are over 60.
As per the sources, the list constitutes a co-morbidity that will be finalised and released in two days but may include chronic diseases of the heart, lung, kidney and liver, as well as diabetes, cancer, severe asthma, and mental or learning disabilities.
It may also include people on immunosuppressants, those morbidly obese and those who had the organ, bone marrow or stem cell transplants.
It is said that people who come under one of these categories would have to fill a single-page Yes/No form confirming their medical condition, and then get it signed by a general physician. After that, they have to present the form at the vaccination centre to get their dose.
In a private organisation, the shot will cost INR 300. Mr Javadekar earlier said the shots would be free at government centres.
Earlier the government said it would use a mobile app CoWin (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) – to help the public register for their shots and locate the nearest vaccination centres. But currently, the app is restricted to “facility-level users” or government employees and users.
Once the application will be available to the public, sources said that users must register themselves with details from their Aadhaar card, upload a photo ID and then the signed medical certificate. They can then book a vaccination appointment at a nearby centre.
India has so far approved two vaccines for emergency use – Covishield (developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and manufactured by the Serum Institute) and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
Till this morning there were 1.47 lakh active Covid cases in India with 13,742 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. Maharashtra and Kerala are worst-affected, with over 50,000 active cases in each.
