The Centre on Saturday dismissed rumours that are being shared on WhatsApp over the next phase of the vaccination drive scheduled to begin next week, including one on the price of the vaccines. On such viral WhatsApp message which is going viral, has claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine will cost Rs 500. However, the fact check team of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) termed the WhatsApp message “misleading”. It further claims that 40 percent of vaccination would be for pre-registered, while 60 percent would be reserved for walk-ins and they have to be registered at vaccination centres.
However, the fact check team of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) termed the information as misleading. The PIB Fact Check tweeted, Several claims are being made in a forwarded #WhatsApp message regarding the next phase of the #COVID19 vaccination drive. #PIBFactCheck: These claims are #Misleading.”It also shared a press release of the Union Health Ministry with all the information regarding the vaccination process. In the press release, the ministry said that the vaccination drive would now be expanded to all citizens above 60 years of age, and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities from March 1, 2021. The ministry, in a statement, said.
“The States and UTs were explained the basic features of version 2.0 of the digital platform CO-Win, which is a population-scale software with capacity of processing several thousands of entries. The new phase of vaccination of age-appropriate groups will expand the COVID vaccination in the country manifold. ”The beneficiaries will be able to self-register in advance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other IT Applications such as Arogya Setu etc. This will show the Government and private hospitals serving as COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) with the date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination. Notably, the vaccination process in India started on January 16, 2021.