COVID-19 Vaccine For 18-44 Year Olds: Registration Mandatory, No Walk-Ins Allowed

Appointments & online registrations of citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 years is mandatory to get a coronavirus vaccine shot, the government said on April 25. It added that there will be no facility for walk-in registrations for this age group initially. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to his state counterparts, outlined the strategy & rules for the third phase of the vaccination drive. Vaccination for everyone above 18 years of age will start from May 1. The government opened vaccinations for all adults amid a massive Covid-19 surge in the second & more deadly wave of the coronavirus. All eligible citizens can register for their vaccine from April 28 on the CoWIN website & Aarogya Setu app. Centre will continue to vaccinate those declared eligible so far - frontline workers, health workers & those above 45. Serum Institute of India, manufacturing Covishield, announced that its vaccine would be sold at Rs 400 to states & at Rs 600 to private hospitals. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin will cost Rs 600 for state governments & Rs 1,200 for private hospitals, the company said in a statement on April 24. Prices for the Centre would remain the same at Rs 150.