The Central government has now allowed on-site, or walk-in registration for vaccination for the 18-44 age group. This option is only open at government-run Covid vaccination centres.
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.
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.