COVID-19: Tips and tricks on how to book vaccination slots on CoWIN, Aarogya Setu

Days following the opening of COVID-19 vaccination drive for all adults, getting a jab against the virus in the midst of the demand-supply gap is becoming extremely strenuous. Appointments for both free and paid vaccinations on the CoWIN website and the Aarogya Setu app are hard to obtain. However, few tricks and tools have come up to help people secure their slots.

A website, which goes by the name of Under45.in, developed by a man from Chennai, provides district-wise updates on vacant vaccine slots through Telegram channels. Another such platform called Getjab.in, sends alerts through email.

The online payment giant, Paytm has also amalgamated a vaccine finder in its mobile application.

The subscribers of the 'My Government Corona Helpdesk' can receive WhatsApp updates on vaccine centres. It, however, does not alert about the available slots.

NDTV spoke to a few people from the age group of 18 to 44 who got inoculated, to know more about the strategy they had used to get the slots.

"You have to spend a lot of time on the CoWin portal, just to be able to keep refreshing and checking. There are certain things that worked for me - how far are you willing to travel (for vaccination). Just being open to travelling helps a lot. Keep looking...I live in UP. Vaccinations here started today, but I got vaccinated a week ago in South Delhi," said Harsh Rana.

Another person, identified as Reshva Munjal stated that there is no alternative to hard work when it comes to booking a slot. "Keep refreshing the CoWIN website," she says.

According to the lady the best time to find the slots is between 6 pm to 11 pm.

Reshva Munjal stated that those who are lucky to get a slot must not waste time in deciding the timings or which vaccine to go for, as the slots get filled very quickly.

People who are not tech-savvy should give their logins to family and friends who know their way around gizmos.

Also Read: COVID-19: India witnesses decline of 30,016 cases for first time after 2 months, says Health Ministry