Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, citizen engagement platform MyGovIndia has entered into a tie-up with WhatsApp to enable eligible individuals to book appointments for vaccination using their phones within minutes. This paves a a new era of citizen convenience. All one has to do is to send ‘Book Slot’ to MyGovIndia Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp, Verify OTP and Follow the steps. Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya and CEO of WhatsApp Inc, Will Cathcart tweeted to inform people about this convenience creating tie-up.
After the vaccination, individuals can download their vaccine certificates through the same mechanism. Over three million Indians have already availed the service. MyGov and WhatsApp had introduced the facility for users to download vaccine certificates from the chatbot on August 5; and so far, over 32 lakh certificates have been downloaded by users across the country. This new tie-up is all set to enable digital inclusion since WhatsApp is much easier to navigate and being used by increasing number of Indians.
To book slots on WhatsApp, one need to follow easy steps as mentioned below:
1. Save MyGov Corona Helpdesk number (9013151515) as a contact
2. Send ‘Book Slot’ request to this number on WhatsApp
3. Enter 6-digit OTP after receiving it via SMS
4. In the chat, choose preferred date and location, pin code, and vaccine type.
5. Get a confirmation and visit the vaccination centre on the day of the appointment.