1.28L over 60 yrs get 1st dose of Covid vaccine

New Delhi: A total of 1,28,630 beneficiaries over 60 years of age and 18,850 aged 45 and above with comorbidities took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to a provisional report of the Union Health ministry as the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 1.47 crore.

Around 25 lakh potential beneficiaries registered on the Co-WIN portal on Monday.

"Out of this, 24.5 lakh are citizens and the rest are healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers. About 6.44 lakh appointments were booked today (Monday) by the citizen beneficiaries," the ministry said.

It added that a total of 1,47,28,569 vaccine doses have been given so far, as per the provisional report till 7 pm on Monday and these include 66,95,665 HCWs who have taken the first dose and 25,57,837 HCWs who have taken the second dose; 53,27,587 frontline workers (first dose), 1,28,630 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 18,850 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities.

The ministry added that the Co-WIN app on the Play Store is meant for use only by administrators, and that registration and booking for an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination has to be done through the portal.

This was clarified by the ministry amid reported glitches in doing registrations as India began the third phase vaccination drive.

"Registration and booking for appointment for #COVID19 vaccination is to be done through #CoWIN Portal: www.cowin.gov.in. There is NO #CoWIN App for beneficiary registration. The App on Play Store is for administrators only," the ministry tweeted.

Citizens can register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal www.cowin.gov.in or through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu. There is also a walk-in provision for the beneficiaries to get themselves registered at the nearby session site to get vaccinated, it said.

The eligible beneficiaries can choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available.

India's COVID-19 tally surpassed 1.11 crore on Monday with 15,510 new infections, while the active cases registered an increase for the fifth consecutive day and were recorded at 1,68,627, according to the Union Health ministry data.

The total Coronavirus cases reached 1,11,12,241 in the country, while the death toll rose to 1,57,157 with 106 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am on Monday showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,07,86,457, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.07 per cent, it stated. The case fatality rate has dropped to 1.41 per cent.

The active cases further increased to 1,68,627, which comprises 1.52 per cent of the total infections, as per the data.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 21,68,58,774 samples have been tested for Covid till February 28, with 6,27,668 samples being tested on Sunday.

The 106 new fatalities include 62 from Maharashtra, 15 from Kerala, seven from Punjab and five from Karnataka.

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have shown a surge in new COVID-19 cases, contributing to 87.25 per cent of 15,510 fresh infections reported in a day, the ministry added.

The total number of cases with the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the country as on date has reached 213, the ministry said.