COVID-19 vaccine: How to get vaccination slot alerts, reschedule appointments, download vaccine certificate and other key details

COVID-19 Vaccine | PC-Shutterstock

As India continues to grapple with the second wave of COVID-19, the government opened up the vaccination drive for people in 18-44 age group on May 1.

The vaccination registrations are expected to increase sharply in view of India’s ambitious move to expand the inoculation programme amidst the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are an adult, you can register yourself for the COVID-19 vaccination using either CoWIN portal or through Aarogya Setu app.

How to register for COVID-19 vaccination on CoWIN?

Step 1: Visit the CoWIN portal and click on Register/Sign in Yourself option at the top right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Enter your mobile number and select 'Get OTP' option. Enter the received OTP on the side and click on 'Enter' option to complete the verification process.

Step 3: Click on 'Register for Vaccination' page and enter all details including: photo ID proof, name, gender, and year of birth. Tap on 'Register'.

Step 4: Get the option to schedule an appointment and then click on 'Schedule' next to the name of the person registered. The CoWIN website allows you to add up to four members through one login.

How to register for COVID-19 vaccination using Aarogya Setu app?

Step 1: Open the Aarogya Setu app on your mobile phone and click on the ‘Co-WIN’ tab.

Step 2: Tap on ‘Vaccination (login/register)’ and then enter your mobile number. Then tap on the ‘proceed to verify’ button.

Step 3: Enter the OTP that you got on your device and tap again on the ‘proceed to verify’ button.

Step 4: The app will then require you to upload a photo ID card type (govt ID/voter ID card/Aadhaar, etc) and enter personal details like your full name, age, gender, year of birth etc. Just like CoWIN, you can register up to 4 beneficiaries through the Aarogya Setu app.

What documents are required for the registration?

Any of the below mentioned ID with photo can be used to register for vaccination

Aadhaar Card

Voter Card

Passport

Driving License

PAN Card

Pension Card

Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Job Card

Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs

Service Identity Card issued to employees by Central/ State Govt./ Public Limited Companies

Voter ID

How to schedule an appointment for COVID-19 vaccine?

Once you are through with the registration process, you need to click on ‘Schedule Appointment,’ and then select ‘book appointment for vaccination’ on the CoWIN website. You then will be required to choose the state, district, block, and pin code. The website will then show you a list of vaccination centres, as per the details you have entered.

Then select the vaccination centre, after which you will see the dates and the number of slots available on a day. You will also get to check the next week’s vaccine slots. Once done, click on the ‘Book’ button to see an ‘Appointment Confirmation’ page display on the screen. Continue with verification of all the details and then click on ‘Confirm’.

Once an appointment is scheduled, you will receive the details of the vaccination centre, date and time slot chosen for appointment in an SMS sent to your registered mobile number. You can also download the appointment slip and print it.

Is rescheduling appointment for COVID-19 vaccination possible?

Once you have registered yourself for a vaccine appointment, its advisable that you make sure to stick to it. However, due to any reason if you think you are going to miss the vaccine appointment, then you can either reschedule or cancel the vaccine appointment.

The appointment can be rescheduled at any time. In case you are not able to go for vaccination on the date of appointment, and need to choose another date or time slot of your convenience, you can call 211 to cancel or reschedule. If it is 48 hours or fewer before your appointment, you can cancel or reschedule by following the link in the reminder notice that you get by text or email.

How to set alerts for the slots availability?

Finding slots on portals like CoWIN and Aarogya Setu app has become challenging as the available slots keep getting occupied every second. One can take help of a few websites that can send you a notification of an email alert when the COVID vaccine time slot becomes available nearby vaccination centres in your city or pincode.

Some of these websites are Under45.in, GetJab.in, and FindSlot.in. If you want instant updates on COVID-19 vaccination slot, you can use Under45.in as the website is developed to give information about the vaccination slot for people in the 18-44 age bracket.

Once you open it, you will be required to enter your state, district and then join the Telegram channel to get the updates related to the COVID-19 vaccination slot available near you.

How can I download my COVID-19 vaccine certificate?

Once you get inoculated, here's how you can download the COVID vaccine certificate from CoWIN website

Step 1: Open the CoWIN website on any web browser.

Step 2: Click on Register/Sign In button. Sign in using your registered mobile number and enter the OTP received in the SMS.

Step 3: If you have got your first or second dose, the platform will show the Certificate tab under your name.

Step 4: Click on the button to download the soft copy of the COVID vaccine certificate for future reference.

After you get your first or second doe of vaccine, follow these steps to download the vaccine certificate from Aarogya Setu app

Step 1: Android users need to download Aarogya Setu from Google Play Store while iOS users can visit the Apple App Store.

Step 2: Look for the CoWIN tab at the top and click on 'Vaccine Certificate'

Step 3: Enter your 13-digit beneficiary reference ID and click on 'Get Certificate' to download the certificate for future reference.