As India battles the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, measures are being taken to exercise control over the mayhem caused. Apart from stringent lockdown measures taken by states in their own capacity, orders to ramp up the vaccination process are underway to cover all age groups effectively.
However, there was definite confusion that followed after vaccinations opened for 18 to 44 years of age — and it has put everyone in a state of worry. In fact, people are left scrambling to get an appointment with slots rapidly filling up one after the other. A surplus of anxious users from these age groups found themselves on both CoWIN and Aarogya Setu, causing both the apps to lag and malfunction. Owing to this, several developers came up with websites that could help track available appointment slots for the Covid-19 vaccination.
Note: These websites will only alert the readers of an empty slot, and not be able to book one for them. To do so, the users may still have to visit CoWIN or Aarogya Setu to reserve a real-time appointment.
Berty Thomas, a programmer, developed the website known as Under45.in, which caters to those between the age group of 18 to 44. The website allows visitors to check if there are any slots for vaccination available in their district or state. However, the website only shows appointments for people between 18 and 44, as opposed to CoWIN, in order to make it easier to search.
As a user, you're required to enter your state and district name to find slots nearby. Thomas has also enabled Telegram specific alerts that will let you know when an appointment is available in your vicinity. You can find the link to the Telegram group chat on his Twitter thread, or the website as well. He mentions how he will keep updating it to have real-time information on the slots.
Developed by Amit Agarwal, this open-sourced COVID-19 vaccine tracker will automatically monitor the vaccine availability near you and will send email alerts as stocks become available. Follow the steps listed below to track your slot:
- Click on this link which will prompt you to create a copy of the Google Sheet on your Drive.
- Further, click the Vaccine Tracker button present on the menu bar on top and pick enable to launch the tracker.
- The site will prompt you to log in using your Gmail id and head forth.
- You will come across a window asking you for your pin code and email address.
- You will also need to select the eligibility category for yourself.
The tracker will update you at 8:00 AM every day, indicating the availability of vaccine appointments in your specified areas.
Run by Shyam Sundar, Anurag Kishore, Akshay Nautiyal and Azhar Hussain, Getjab.in helps users get email alerts on open vaccination slots nearby. So, anyone who signs up for an update about their district will get information texted (or emailed) to them. The no-fuss authentification will require you to add your name, phone number and email address on the website. Getjab.in also assures you that your data will not be misused for any other platform.
Unlike other websites, FindSlot.in doesn't require you to log in or add your personal details to look for a slot. The landing page shows you three options to navigate through. The first one allows users to go through any openings in their district from CoWIN. The second option allows you to check according to any slots in your districts. The third one directs you to any appointments available using your pin code. However, the website clarifies that it only helps in looking for a slot and does not facilitate booking it. It mentions: This web app uses CoWIN open API to make it easy for you to find slots. Availability changes in real-time.
While it may still be difficult to catch an empty slot, we're sure that these websites will make it easier in the coming days.
