India’s COVID-19 vaccination program [2021]

We present you with the scenario of COVID-19 vaccination program in India.

We present you with the scenario of COVID-19 vaccination program in India.

India’s drug regulator has officially approved Oxford Institute’s COVID-19 vaccine Covishield which was developed by the Pune-based Serum Institute, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, for emergency use in the country. As per the Drug Controller General of India VG Somani, the overall efficacy of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine 70.42 per cent while Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin was safe and provides a robust immune response. Now we will tell you the whole vaccination program of India – who will get the COVID-19 vaccine first and how can you register.

Who will get the vaccine first?

1. One Crore Healthcare Workers

The vaccine will be first given to one crore healthcare workers working in both government and private hospitals, as per the recommendation by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). The Health Minister of India Dr Harsh Vardhan had also said the same while informing the public about India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive. He said that in 1st phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the free vaccine will be provided across the nation to the most prioritised beneficiaries that include 1 crore, healthcare workers. These healthcare workers have further been divided into sub-categories like front-line, health and Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) workers, nurses and supervisors, medical officers, paramedical staff, support staff and students.

2. Two crore frontline and municipal workers

The two crore frontline workers such as state and central police department, armed forces, home guard, disaster management, and civil defence organizations, prison staff, municipal workers and revenue officials engaged in COVID-19 containment, surveillance and associated activities will get the COVID vaccine.

3. Above 50 years of age

Here the group is divided into two categories: above 60 and 50-60 years of age. According to NDTV,  the vaccination drive in India, Dr Randeep Guleria who is the director of AIIMS said that they will be looking at the latest electoral data for Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections to identify the population under this category for the vaccination drive. But there can be lots of people who can get left out, so if one falls in that category, they can simply go to the Cowin app and register themselves by using any of their photos identification card such as an Aadhar card, driving license, etc.

4. Areas suffering high COVID-19 infection or people with comorbidities

As decided by the NEGVAC next in line will be areas or identified groups in identified areas where the COVID-19 infection is concerning high also followed by the people who have comorbidities. As Dr Randeep Guleria, director of AIIMs said that they have developed a group, where the person will get a score depending upon the severity of the public’s disease which the people will feed in the grid prepared in the Cowin app. If their score is high, the chances of getting vaccinated first will be high.

5. Rest of the population

After everyone from the above list is covered, the rest of the population will be eligible to get their first COVID-19 jab. Currently, the Indian government has only allowed the age group from 18-44 years old. The vaccination here will depend on the disease epidemiology and vaccine availability. To avoid overcrowding at vaccination sites, the vaccine will be given to the beneficiaries in a staggered manner and once the people will register themselves, they will get a message on their phone, informing them of the time and location of their vaccination spot.

How to register yourself for the COVID-19 vaccine?

A self-registration module will be made available in the later phases of the implementation of the vaccine drive. The general public will have to register themselves on the CoCIN website/app. They will have to upload their all necessary identity such as Aadhar authentication. The authentication can happen via biometrics like OTP (one-time password) or demographic. As the registration is done the date and time will be allocated for vaccinated in your cell phone. Only pre-registration is allowed to proceed with the vaccination.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Privacy & Cookies Policy