Amid peaking COVID-19 cases as the sequel of the second wave, India aims to inoculate vaccines to every eligible person in the country to counter the virus through developing immunity. India is one of the worst-hit countries by the pandemic that had unveiled the largest vaccination drive. The country has launched the first phase of the vaccination on January 16 to administer the vaccine for the three crore frontline workers.

The country has later expanded the drive to cover the people over 45 years as part of the second phase. In the midst of the concerns among the people over its efficacy and dearth of vaccines, the Central government is on the war foot to administer the shots, and it is all set to ramp up the drive to reach the large-scale populace from the third phase. The government has on Monday announced that people who are 18 years of age and above can receive the vaccine from May 1. Through the announcement, it can be known that each and every citizen of India above 18 years of age will be eligible for the vaccine, regardless of comorbidities. 

According to reports, the decision on a liberalized and accelerate phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday after having a high-profile meeting with the health officials and doctors. While the first two phases had India's indigenous vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin in its store, the third phase which begins on May 1 is expected to have the role of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, which has recently got approval from the Drugs Controller of India for the emergency use in the country. So if you are above 18 years of age and getting ready to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on May 1, the following are the measures that you should know to register for the vaccination. 

• The registration can be done on the government-developed CoWIN platform. Visit the official website of CoWIN - cowin.gov.in
• Enter your 10-digit mobile number or Aadhaar number, you will receive an OTP which you have to enter in its designated space.  
• Following the registration, you have to schedule your preferred date and time to receive the vaccine. 
• After the confirmation of the slot, you can receive the vaccine on your preferred date and time, and after the vaccination, you will get a Reference ID through which you can obtain your vaccination certificate. 

Note: You will not be allowed to take the vaccine shot if you fail to disclose valid documents. You have to produce a photo ID and along with that, you need to submit at least one of the following documents at the time of registration. 

• PAN Card
• Aadhaar Card
• Driving License
• Voter ID
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Card
• Health Insurance Smart card issued under the Ministry of Labor
• Passport
• Passbooks issued by bank/ post office
• Pension Document
• Official Identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs
• Service Identity cards issued to employees by Central/State govt/ Public Limited Companies. 

The government has announced to vaccinate people above 18 years of age when there have been expectations and demands to the government for vaccination drive in the wake of heavy infections among young people. Along with the decision of vaccinating the 18 years and above, the government has also made crucial decisions including incentivizing the vaccine manufacturers to ramp up the production, providing greater flexibility for the stakeholders to customize the local needs, and attracting new national and international players. The vaccine manufacturers have also been directed to supply 50% of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) doses to the Indian government. 

They can supply the rest 50% of doses to the state governments and the open market. The Central government has asked the private hospitals to secure vaccines from the 50% quota allotted to the state governments and the states can procure directly from the manufacturers. The Center has said that all vaccination, including at the government-run centers, private, and open market, should have to follow the government protocol such as updating in CoWIN platform. 

The press release said that the private vaccination providers shall transparently declare their self-set vaccination price. The Union government has said that it will allocate vaccines to states and Union Territories based on the extent of infection- number of active cases and performance -speed of administration. According to the Union Health Ministry, India has vaccinated 12,71,29,113 people so far as of Monday since the inception of the drive.