The Centre has now allowed walk-in registration for vaccination for the 18-44 age group. However, the option is only open at government-run Covid vaccination centres for now.
Walk-in vaccination at government-run centres now allowed for people in 18-44 age group
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that making online appointments mandatory for inoculation for the 18-44 age group has so far prevented overcrowding at the vaccination centres. But walk-in registration has now been opened up for this age group in order to prevent vaccine wastage.
“In case of sessions exclusively organized with online slots, towards the end of the day, some doses may still be left unutilized in case the online appointee beneficiaries do not turn up on day of vaccination due to any reason. In such cases, on-site registration of a few beneficiaries may be necessary to minimize the vaccine wastage,” the ministry stated in a press release.
However, the Centre has empowered the respective state and UT governments to take the final call on the matter. “State/UT must decide on opening of on-site registrations/facilitated cohorts’ registration and appointments for 18-44 years age group based on the local context just as an additional measure to minimize vaccine wastage and for facilitating vaccination of eligible beneficiaries in the age group 18-44 years,” the ministry stated.
It also added that walk-in vaccinations will not be allowed at private vaccination centres which will have to continue to publish their vaccination schedules exclusively with slots for online appointments.
In a related development, BMC has allowed walk-in vaccination for lactating women in Mumbai. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani has issued instructions to the health department to give special consideration to lactating women post-delivery.
Meanwhile, the Centre further stated that it has advised the states and UTs to issue clear instructions to all district immunization officers to strictly adhere to decision of respective state/UT governments regarding the extent and manner of using the on-site registration and appointment feature for the 18 to 44 age group.