‘CoWIN crashed’, complain many; minor glitch in portal fixed
New Delhi: An enthusiastic response greeted the opening of online registrations for COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years last evening with the CoWin platform recording over 1.23 crore registrations. The vaccinations are set to begin on Saturday, May 1.
Of the online registrations, 90 percent users registered after 4 pm, when the portal began accepting 18-plus beneficiaries, a senior official said.
The exact numbers of new beneficiaries would be a dynamic figure, officials said. In the first three hours (4 pm – 7 pm), 383 million API hits, initially as high as 2.7 million hits per minute, were recorded. As many as 1.45 crore text messages were successfully sent.
Meanwhile, many complained that the CoWIN site was not working, though others successfully completed the process. Less than an hour after registrations opened at 4 pm, however, it was informed that a minor glitch in the portal had been fixed. The Centre had opened inoculation for everyone above the age of 18 from May 1 under a more “liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination.”
Those looking to register for vaccination were to go to https://www.cowin.gov.in/home and click on the “register/sign-in” option.
However, this didn’t work for many who got an error message saying: “CoWIN server is facing issues. Please try later.”
However, Aarogya Setu, the Union Government’s app for contact tracing and dissemination of medical advisories to contain spread of COVID-19, tweeted saying, “CoWIN Portal is working. There was a minor glitch at 4 pm that was fixed. 18 plus can register.”
VACCINATION REGISTRATION ON COWIN PORTAL
- The first step would be visiting the CoWIN portal and clicking on the “Register/Sign In Yourself” tab to register for the Covid-19 vaccination.
- Enter your mobile number and click on “GET OTP (one-time password)”. You can also sign in via Aarogya Setu app or the UMANG app.
- Once you receive it, enter the OTP and click on the verify button.
- After verification, the “Registration for Vaccination” page will open.
- Enter your personal details — Photo ID proof, Photo ID Number, Name, Gender, Year of Birth — all mandatory. Now register yourself. Documents for photo ID that you can use:
- Aadhaar card
- Driving Licence
- PAN card
- Passport
- Pension Passbook
- NPR Smart Card
- Voter ID Card (EPIC)
Once registered, you will be shown the “Account Details” page, where you can schedule your appointment.
ON AAROGYA SETU APP
- Install the Aarogya Setu app.
- Register yourself on Aarogya Setu app using your mobile number. An OTP will be sent to your mobile numbers.
- Click on the “Vaccination” tab.
- Now, register for vaccination by filling up the required details.
- You can also register yourself for the vaccination on UMANG App.
ON UMANG APP
- Install UMANG app. Register by entering your mobile number. An OTP will be sent to your mobile number. Fill it in the given space and click on “Register”.
- Now that you have logged in, click on “register now” for vaccinations. It’s coloured in red.
- Now click on “register or login for vaccination”.
- Enter your mobile number, an OTP will be sent to your mobile number. Enter it and “verify”.
- Enter your details and “submit”. Then schedule your appointment for your vaccination.
Good for people who were able to register, this is the begining of the end. The portal does not open the slot for time, date and selection of vaccine centres. It is a open secret that there is vaccine shortage, and some speculate that they may get during Jan 2022.