In a bid to finally get rid of the menace of COVID-19 disease, central and state governments in India are all geared up to begin the cross-nation vaccination drive, probably the most pervasive one in the history of Indian healthcare.

The vaccination drive began on January 13, 2021. People in India are still puzzled about the procedure they have to follow to get the much-awaited vaccine shot.

Well, worry no more, as the government has released an eight-step guide for the distribution of the life-saving shots.  

What are the Steps to Get the Vaccine?

Step 1-Registration: Every person who is willing to get the vaccine is supposed to register himself/herself (as the beneficiary) on the Co-WIN system using photo identity proof. It is worth mentioning that Co-WIN is an app developed by the central government to maintain flawless data and execute the vaccination drive transparently.

Step 2-Vaccination details: Once the registration is complete, the beneficiary will receive an SMS on his/her registered cellphone number.

1. The first SMS will confirm the registration of the beneficiary
2. The second SMS will consist of the date, time, and place where the particular beneficiary will get his/her vaccination
3. The third SMS will be generated after the beneficiary receives the first dose of the vaccine. It will confirm the due date of the next dose
4. The fourth SMS will confirm the completion of the second dose along with a link for a digital certificate

Step 3-Vaccination Officer No. 1 (VO-1): The government has appointed a few Vaccination Officers to help the beneficiaries go through the vaccination process with ease at the site. The VO-1 will pre-check the registration and photo ID proof of the beneficiary, and also assist in managing the queues and crowd at the site. These officers are originally policemen, home guards, civil defense personnel, NCC, NSS or NYK members.  

Step 4-Verification Officer No 2 (VO-2): The VO-2 will cross-verify and authenticate the beneficiaries’ documents on Co-WIN.

Step 5-Vaccination Officer No 3 (VO-3): This officer will be a healthcare practitioner who will administer the vaccine to the beneficiary.

Step 6-Waiting time: Once the vaccine is administered, the beneficiary will be asked to wait in the “observation area” for 30 minutes to keep a check on any kind of minor to major side effects.

Step 7-Monitoring of observation area: The government has appointed Vaccination Officers No 4 and 5 to ensure 30 minute wait time for every beneficiary. They will also guide the non-registered beneficiaries at the site.

Step 8-Second dose: As specified in the SMS received after the first dose of vaccine, the beneficiaries will have to come for the second dose on the due date to ensure complete protection against COVID-19.

Preventing serious illnesses, hospitalizations and chances of death are some of the advantages of covid-19 vaccination in an individual, especially in patients who have multiple comorbidities.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D. in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

All About Co-WIN App

As of now, the Co-WIN system is not live on Android or iOS platforms. It is still in the pre-product stage. However, the government has ensured to upload on it the data of healthcare workers, who will be the first in line to get vaccinated. As per the government, about 75 lakh healthcare workers have already been registered on the app.

More importantly, if you have already downloaded or installed any app from Play Store or App Store with the name “Co-WIN”, it is not going to work, and may only have been created by some imposter to get access to your personal data. So, you should uninstall it immediately.

Priority List

It may be recalled that the central government-appointed panel, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVAC), had recently released a priority list for the vaccine administration.  

The panel suggested that healthcare workers (about 1 crore) will be the first to get the vaccine, followed by frontline workers (2 crores) and people above the age of 50 years (about 27 crores). The panel also confirmed that people with associated comorbidities will also get the vaccine in the first phase.

Takeaway

Well, it seems like the government has prepared a full-proof plan to execute this massive drive efficiently. Still, it is not going to be a difficult situation given the huge population of our country. Hence, as the responsible citizens of the country, we must abide by the rules set by our government, and should not show any haste in getting the vaccination.

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