Appealing to eligible ones to take the vaccine, says PM as he takes COVID-19 jab

By Online Desk

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS here and appealed to all those who are eligible to get inoculated.

“Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19,” Modi tweeted after taking the vaccine shot.”

“I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free!” he said.

Sister P Niveda, from Puducherry, administered the made-in-India COVAXIN (Bharat BioTech) to PM Modi.

The prime minister also posted a picture of himself taking the first dose of the vaccine in which he is seen sporting an Assamese ‘gamocha’ and getting inoculated with a smile on his face.

ALSO WATCH:

Sister Niveda and a second nurse from Kerala can be seen in the picture posted by Modi.

The prime minister went to AIIMS without any arrangement of “route” on the roads, thus choosing early morning to ensure no inconvenience to people, the sources said.

The second phase will mainly cover people above 60 years and those aged 45 and above with comorbidities from today and registration will take place on the Co-WIN2.0 portal from 9 am.

Citizens will be able to register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu.

Registration will open at 9 am on March 1 at www.cowin.gov.in, the ministry said.

All citizens that are aged, or will attain the age of 60 or more as on January 1, 2022 are eligible to register, in addition to all such citizens that are aged, or will attain the age of 45 to 59 years as on January 1, 2022, and have any of the specified 20 comorbidities.

This information was shared during the orientation workshop organised by the Union Health Ministry and the National Health Authority (NHA) for the 10,000 private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS and other private hospitals empanelled under State Government’s Health Insurance Schemes, on Co-WIN2.0.

The modalities of the new features integrated in the Co-WIN2.0 digital platform were explained to them.

The private empanelled COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) were also trained on various aspects of the process of vaccination and management of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) through video conference with the support of the National Health Authority (NHA).

“There will be only one live appointment for a beneficiary at any point of time for each dose.

“Appointments for any date for a COVID Vaccination Center will be closed at 3 pm on that day for which the slots were opened,” the ministry said.

For example, for March 1 the slots will be open from 9 am till 3 pm and the appointments can be booked anytime before that, subject to availability.

ALSO READ | Unhappy with price cap in private hospitals, Covid-19 vaccine makers ‘could be subsidised’

However, on March 1, an appointment can also be booked for any future date for which vaccination slots are available.

A slot for the second dose will also be booked at the same COVID Vaccination Centre on 29th day of the date of appointment of the 1st dose.

If a beneficiary cancels a first dose appointment, then the appointment of both doses will be cancelled, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, there will be a facility of on-site registration so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and inoculated.

The eligible persons will be able to register at the Co-WIN2.0 portal through their mobile number, through a step by step process.

With one mobile number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries.

However, all those registered on one mobile number will have nothing in common except the mobile number, the ministry said.

The photo ID card number for each such beneficiary must be different.

Either of the following photo identity documents can be used by citizens for availing of online registration — Aadhaar Card/Letter, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), passport, driving license, PAN Card, NPR Smart Card or Pension Document with a photograph.

A user guide for the citizen registration and appointment for vaccination has also been uploaded on the websites of the Union Ministry of Health and National Health Authority (NHA).

It was also explained that the central government shall procure all the vaccines and supply them free of cost to the states and UTs who in turn will disburse them further to the government and private COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs), the ministry said.

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his first dose of the #COVID19 vaccine at AIIMS Delhi today. He was administered Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN. pic.twitter.com/VqqBYZDTFU

— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2021

It was re-iterated that all vaccines provided to beneficiaries at the government health facilities will be entirely free of cost, while private facilities cannot charge the beneficiary a sum above Rs 250 per person per dose (Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs 100 as operational charges).

Private hospitals will have to remit the cost of vaccine doses allotted to them in a designated account of the National Health Authority (NHA).

The payment gateway for the same is being enabled by the NHA on their website, the ministry said.

The government of India has supplied two COVID-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, free of cost to the states and UTs to vaccinate healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) and they will also be able to cover the next priority group i.e. 60 years plus age group and the age group of 45 to 59 years suffering from pre-specified co-morbidities.

The states have been requested to operationalise the linkages between the CVCs  (both government and private empanelled facilities) with the nearest cold chain points for ensuring smooth vaccine delivery to (CVCs).

ALSO READ | Second phase of Covid-19 vaccination drive begins

The ministry specified 20 co-morbidities within the 45-59 years age group including heart failure with hospital admission in past one year, moderate or severe valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, CT/ MRI documented stroke, diabetes ( >10 years or with complications) and hypertension on treatment, end-stage kidney disease on haemodialysis, diagnosis of any solid cancer on or after 2000 or currently on any cancer therapy for which one will have to submit a medical certificate.

The ministry has shared the format of the simplified one-page certificate to be signed by any registered medical practitioner.

The certificate can either be uploaded on Co-WIN2.0 by the beneficiary while self-registering or a hard copy can be carried by the beneficiary to the CVC, the ministry said.

COVID-19 vaccination phase two: How to register for the jab

• Any person will be able to register at the COWIN portal through his/her mobile number.

• OTP verification will be done prior to registration to ensure the veracity of the mobile number.

• After registration, an account will be created on COWIN for the person. The person can access his/her account on COWIN using the mobile number used at the time of registration.

• Features for adding beneficiaries, editing details and booking appointments available at the citizens’ account.

• With one mobile number, a person can register as many as four beneficiaries. But the ID card number for each beneficiary must be different.

• The beneficiary then selects an ID card type and provides the ID card number.

• If age of the beneficiary is between 45 and 59 years, the person will be prompted to confirm if he/she has any specified comorbidity in which case, the person will need to carry a certificate.

• Once all necessary details are recorded by the beneficiary, registration will be completed and an acknowledgement slip will be sent to the beneficiary’s registered mobile number

• A COVID-19 vaccination time table for each centre will be published for every district.

• The beneficiary will be able to choose and book a slot for vaccination at the centres declared in VTT, anytime and anywhere, based on their preference (subject to availability of slots).

• The second dose will also be scheduled at the same centre on the 29th day of the date of appointment of the first dose.

• The beneficiary can change slot for the second dose in the period 29th day to 42nd day of the first dose in certain conditions.

(With PTI and ENS Inputs)