Now, Co-WIN Does Not Schedule Your Appointment For The Second Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine

New Delhi: RS Sharma, Chairman, Empowered Group on COVID vaccination informed that now Co-WIN does not schedule second dose vaccination appointment automatically. This comes after the Centre wrote to States and UTs to increase the interval between two doses of Covishield to 4-8 weeks in view of the emerging scientific evidence of increased protection if the second dose of Covishield is administered between 4-8 weeks after the first dose. “Now, Co-WIN does not schedule your second dose vaccination appointment automatically. You should schedule it yourself as per the recommended gap between the two doses of the vaccine,” Mr Sharma said.

Also Read: COVID Vaccination: Increase Interval Between Two Doses Of Covishield To 4-8 Weeks, Centres Tells States

‘Co-WIN’ is a digitalised platform for the effective national rollout and scaling up of the COVID Vaccine Distribution System. Registration and booking for appointment for COVID-19 vaccination is to be done through Co-WIN portal: http://cowin.gov.in. This decision of the revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin, said the health ministry.

According to the ministry, in a letter written by the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to the Chief Secretaries of States/Union Territories (UTs) today, he has noted that Union Health Ministry has accepted the recommendations of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and has thereafter advised the states and UTs to ensure the administration of the second dose of Covishield to beneficiaries within this stipulated time interval of four to eight weeks after the first dose.

As per the Union Health Ministry, 5,31,45,709 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far. At present, there are 3,68,457 active coronavirus cases in the country, 1,12,05,160 have recovered from the disease while 1,60,441 died.

Also Read: India’s Coronavirus Vaccination: People Above 45 Years Of Age To Get COVID-19 Vaccine From April 1

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.