Coronavirus | Government lists documents for vaccine registration

Vaccine will be introduced only when the safety is proven, says Health Ministry

A health worker checks the body temperature of train passengers upon their arrival during the mandatory COVID-19 screening at a railway terminus in Mumbai.

The Union Health Ministry on Friday listed out the documents that can be used for COVID-19 vaccination registration. Beneficiaries can produce driving licence, health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) job card, official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs, PAN card, by bank/post office passbooks, passport, pension document, service identity card issued to employees by Central/ State govts/ public limited companies and voter ID – at the time of registration.

After online registration, a beneficiary will receive an SMS on the registered mobile number on the due date, place and time of vaccination. And after all the doses of vaccine are administered, a QR code based certificate will be sent to the registered mobile number, the Ministry says.

Photo ID must

A photo ID is a must for both registration and verification at the session site. “Protective levels of antibodies are generally developed two weeks after receiving the 2nd dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and it must be ensured that the entire schedule of vaccination is completed by only one type of vaccine, as different vaccines are not interchangeable,’’ it states.

It is also advisable to receive a complete schedule of vaccine, irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19. This will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease, it notes.

“Persons with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of spreading the same to others at vaccination sites. For this reason, infected individuals should defer vaccination for 14 days after symptoms resolution,’’ it urges.

Vaccine will be introduced only when the safety is proven. “As is true for other vaccines, the common side effects in some individuals could be mild fever, pain, etc. at the site of injection. The States have been asked to start making arrangements to deal with any vaccine-related side effects as one of the measures towards safe vaccine delivery among masses,’’ it adds.