In order to make the process of booking a slot for the Covid-19 vaccination hassle-free and reachable to a larger number of people, the Government of India has extended the service to WhatsApp. Now anyone can register for their Covid-19 vaccination via the MyGov chat bot on WhatsApp.
Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGov and NeGD, took to Twitter to announce the launch of this new service.
“Now book vaccination slots by simply sending ‘Book Slot’ to @MyGovIndia Corona Helpdesk on @WhatsApp, verify OTP & follow the steps. Grateful to WhatsApp & @haptik for their continued support to build this chatbot,” he tweeted
He also tweeted a link to the WhatsApp booking of Covid-19 vaccine.
Here are the steps to register for your Covid-19 vaccinations via WhatsApp:
1. To start with the registration process, you will first need to add MyGov Corona Helpdesk’s number-- 9013151515 -- as a contact on your phone. Alternatively, you can go through this link https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=919013151515&text&app_absent=0 on your desktop to access the chatbot.
2. Now, send a 'Book Slot' message to the chat that has opened.
3. Then you will need to enter a six-digit OTP that you receive via SMS.
4. After that, you need to select the preferred date and location for vaccination, pin code, and the type of vaccine.
After you finish these four steps, you will receive a confirmation message of your Covid-19 vaccination registration.
WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart also tweeted about the partnership adding that Covid-19 vaccination certificates can be downloaded via the app as well.
The government made downloading vaccine certificates available on WhatsApp earlier this month.
Here's how you can download your Covid-19 vaccination certificate via WhatsApp:
1. Type ‘covid certificate' and send it to the same MyGov chat bot.
2. Enter the OTP that you received on the chat.
3. Download the certificate.