Indian Hacks to Book COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment in India.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has spawned a mass hysteria worldwide, and India remains no stranger to the dire reality. The reports unfold record-breaking covid case numbers, dearth of oxygen ventilators, and hospital beds.

In the foreseeable future, India would remain on the trajectory of being worse before things take a positive turn. With every passing second, we witness the deaths and losses of families caused due to the covid carnage. There is only one thing hovering upon people’s heads- staying in the proximity of being safe by obtaining vaccination against the coronavirus, at a time when your google search of “hospitals near me” renders futile because although the institution exists, it's rarely ever empty.

A time when fatalities are rising by two-folds and hopes and prayers seem to be in vain, you and basically everyone would follow just any ray of light. Here, in this case, you are met with a necessity to get vaccinated, either by Covishield, Covaxin, or Sputnik V. 

However, since hundreds and thousands of individuals are attempting to acquire the vaccination in a short while, you might face difficulties in booking a slot for yourself. Let us go over how to register yourself and then explore some tips and tricks to meander your way through the looming alert of “Fully Booked”-  

How to Register for Covid-19 Vaccination on Cowin?

Cowin can be downloaded from the app store or accessed at cowin.gov.in. To sign up, you must enter your mobile number, Aadhar number, or just about any government identification number like Passport or Pan Card. Once registered, you will have to select your district or simply enter your area’s pin code to be presented with nearby vaccination centers. After which, you can opt for any convenient medical facility and time slot. Bear in mind that even if you are using Umang or Arogya Setu App, you would eventually be directed towards the Cowin website. No matter how easy it sounds now, it will be a matter of enormous luck and patience to receive an empty slot, especially for people falling in the age group of 18-44. 

What are the Hacks to Book covid-19 vaccine Appointments in India?

• Best Time to Book Slot

This must be remembered that vaccine vacancies are not consistently updated on the Cowin portal all day long. Instead, the empty spots are said to be added every day between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Therefore, you must also routinely check your area's institutions for vaccination slots for 2-3 days and gauge an idea about the specific time when they are actively updating the website. Note that if a hospital has multiple sites listed on the Cowin website and say, for instance, Hospital Site 1 shows a green signal for the commencement of bookings, but you missed it. Then, wait for 30-40 secs because the same hospital would revise their availability for Sites 2 and 3 as well.  

• Don’t Delay Once Slots are Available

Always log in with your registered mobile number, and after that, scour for vacant slots. This could facilitate scheduling your vaccination session with much ease and speed. While selecting a time slot, filling up your OTP, and verifying via Captcha, you will have an interval of 15 minutes to get all the needful done. If you cross the timeframe, you shall lose the slot. 

• Keep Refreshing the Co-win website

You will have to keep refreshing the Cowin website to gather constant updates on vaccine reservations. When you reload the page, the website will prompt you to enter information such as your PIN code, state, and district. Or you can just keep pressing on the search button adjacent to the available filter options of age (18+ or 45+) and types of covid vaccine (Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V).

• Join Telegram Group

In today’s tech-savvy world, people use the Cowin website’s API to automatically check the site and create a notification for whenever there’s an available vaccination slot. A programmer called Berty Thomas developed under45.in that systematically gets updated to inform the users about the inoculation spots all across the cities in India. Once you select your district from the drop-down list, you will receive a telegram channel. This is an automated approach that will alert people about the vaccine appointment slots, and within a minute, all the openings would be booked again. 

Let’s Wrap Up!

Having said that, the vaccines will help you shield the body against any severe infection. However, it is still essential for you to curb your outdoor ventures and in case of any non-covid related health issue, opt for online doctor consultation. In case an urgency arrives, wear your mask and maintain the social distancing protocols.