Search engine Google has aligned with COWIN to give real-time updates about Covid-19 vaccination slots availability and booking on Cowin. The search giant will now offer detailed information on vaccination, slot-booking, availability and more for Cowin vaccination, in a bid to increase Covid vaccination coverage in India.
Google now allows you to check covid 19 vaccine availability as well as book appointment slots in over 13,000 locations in India via its search. Users will be able to do Cowin registration and book vaccination slots via Google Search, Maps and Assistant.
The COVID 19 vaccine booking via the Google search engine is powered by real-time data from the Cowin APIs. The info includes details like the availability of vaccination slots at each centre, the type of vaccines available and doses offered. You will be able to see Dose 1 or Dose 2 availability, the pricing (paid or free), as well as the link to the Cowin website for booking. The information will be shown automatically when you search for covid 19 vaccine centres near them across Google Search, Maps and Google Assistant.
The search results can be viewed in English and eight other regional Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Gujarati, and Marathi. Google has declared that it will continue to partner closely with the Cowin team and hopes to extend this facility to all vaccination centres across India.
Google now shows all information regarding the COVID-19 vaccination centres near you as well as the slots availability, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. For booking a slot for vaccination you will still need to go to the Cowin website. However, Google will provide a quick link on Maps and other services so users will be able to access the portal quickly.
India has been ramping up its covid vaccination drive in the face of looming third wave fears. On 31st Aug 2021, over 1.28-crore milestone jobs were administered, hitting a new high in single-day vaccinations and outstripping its previous record of 1.03 crore doses which was achieved on August 27, 2021.
A total of 18 crore doses have been administered in India in August 2021 which was up from 13.45 crore doses given in July and 11.97 doses given in June. Overall, approx. 65.26 crores doses have been given till 10 pm on 31, Aug 2021, out of which 77 per cent were first doses. In India over 39 per cent of India’s total population has received the first dose, while 23 per cent are fully immunised with both shots of vaccine given.
The increased pace of vaccination is driven by improved supplies, as well as in a bid to ramp up inoculation coverage, particularly that of the second dose, before the upcoming festivities. With the supplies expected to increase further the government is estimating around 20-22 crore doses in September and another 25-30 crore in October. The government expects the majority of the adult population eligible for vaccination to be immunised by at least one dose by October. In November and December over 35 crore doses are expected to be given.
The booking for the COVID vaccine via Google search will be backed by Cowin APIs in real-time. Users will be able to see the available appointment slots at each centre, vaccines and available doses. Users can check Dose 1 or Dose 2 availability, as well as the pricing (paid or free), and will be shown a link to the Cowin website for booking available slots near them. Users will be shown the information related to the covid vaccine automatically when they search for ‘vaccine centres near me’ across Google Search, Maps and Google Assistant.
To check availability and book a vaccination slot via Google follow the below-mentioned steps.
1. First Go to Google search or Google Maps
2. Next On the search bar, find 'covid vaccine near me' on Google
3. Then Check availability of slots and more
4. Next, you will see an option to 'Book Appointment' feature
5. Then click on the book for a slot option available near you. You will be able to see the COWIN website link to book the appointment.
After your visit to the centre, you will receive a message on your registered mobile number which will contain the link that redirects you to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website. Alternatively, you can follow the below-mentioned steps to download the certificate from Aarogya Setu. Follow the below-mentioned steps to get the vaccine certificate.
1. Download the Aarogya Setu app on your phone from the Google play store or the Apple app store.
2. Next login with OTP.
3. Under the CoWin tab, you will be able to see ‘Vaccination Certificate’.
4. You will see the ‘Get Certificate’ option, just click on it to download your certificate.