Vaccination Phase 3: Over 1.32 cr register on Day 1. Here's how you can do

Over 1.32 crore people registered on the government's portal CoWIN and Aarogya Setu mobile app to apply for Covid-19 vaccination on Wednesday. The government has allowed vaccination for all above the age of 18 from May 1, registrations for which started at 4 pm on April 28.

"So we close Day 1 with 1.32 crore registrations on http://Cowin.gov.in. Kudos to Team CoWIN for building a truly scalable and robust platform. Handling more than 50000 API calls per second is mammoth!!," Aarogya Setu tweeted.

Both the CoWIN portal and Aarogya Setu app had also faced minor technical glitches on Wednesday minutes after the government opened the registrations for all. However, services were back again soon and people were able to register for vaccination phase 3.

Over 35 lakh people had registered for vaccination in the first hour of opening of the registrations. "More than 35 lakhs people registered in the first hour after the launch of 18 plus registration on http://cowin.gov.in. Appointments for 18-44 will be available when state govts and private vaccination centers schedule sessions," the Aarogya Setu tweet further said.

National Health Authority chief RS Sharma said the system was robust and even after seeing traffic of 55,000 hits per second, it is functioning "as expected". "We have seen a traffic of 55,000 hits per second. System functioning as expected," he tweeted.

While most people were able to register for vaccination, many were unable to load the CoWIN website or faced difficulty in receiving OTPs during registration. Many were also not able to type the OTP on the portals. "Cowin Portal is working. There was a minor glitch at 4 PM that was fixed. 18 plus can register," Aarogya Setu tweeted later.

RS Sharma also said the number of registrations had risen manifold as the government allowed vaccination for everyone above the age of 18 from May 1. "We think our system will be able to take the load when registrations open today," he said.

Registration for the new phase started at 4 pm on Wednesday. However, as the country struggles with a shortage of vaccine doses, some states might not start the latest phase on May 1.

The Centre has allowed states to procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers. COVID-19 vaccine makers can supply 50 per cent of their stock to states and private hospitals. To that end, Serum Institute has priced Covishield at Rs 300 per dose for states and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals. Bharat Biotech, on the other hand, has priced Covaxin at Rs 600 per dose for the government and Rs 1,200 per dose for private hospitals.

One must keep in mind that vaccination in this phase will require registration and there will be no walk-in vaccinations. Recipients can register through CoWin app or Aarogya Setu app. Here's how:

COWIN APP

• Open www.cowin.gov.in on web browser or download the app
• Click on Register/Sign in
• Enter mobile number for the OTP. Once done, click on Get OTP
• Once OTP is generated, enter it and click Verify
• Enter details like name, age, gender, photo ID proof on Register for Vaccination page
• Click on Register. Then click on Schedule button next to name of the person
• Enter pin code, or select from the list of districts. Once done, vaccination centres will show up
• Select vaccination centre, date, time. Once done, click Confirm
• As many as four people can be registered from same mobile number

AAROGYA SETU APP

• Click on CoWIN tab on the home screen
• Press on Vaccination Registration
• Enter phone number for OTP
• Once it is verified, Aarogya Setu will lead to Registration of Vaccination page
• Enter details like aforementioned
• Enter pin code or select districts to get a list of vaccination centres. Once done, pick desired centre
• Enter date to check availability. Pick time slot
• Once done, confirm appointment

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine registration for 18 to 45 years: How to register via CoWin portal, Aarogya Setu app

Also read: CoWIN registration mandatory for 18-45 age group to get COVID-19 vaccine