The Kerala Health Department has issued revised guidelines for those waiting to take the second dose of Covid vaccination but are not able to register themselves on the Co-Win platform. Accordingly, regulated spot registrations will be allowed in such a manner as to avoid crowding at the vaccination centres.

The decision has been taken in in view of the persisting difficulty in booking their slots online, an official spokesperson said here. The new guidelines say that those who are due for the second dose need not register online. But those taking the first dose must register on the Co-Win platform.

The help of Asha workers and employees of local bodies will be sought to locate people waiting for the second dose. They will also convey the availability of vaccine slots to these persons. The guidelines also require vaccine centres to make separate counters for senior citizens and the differently-abled.

Private vaccine centres have been directed to exhaust their current stock of vaccines by Friday (April 30), a day before the window opens for vaccination for those above 18 years. These vaccines will be available at Rs 250 per dose for those above 45 at these centres, the new guidelines said.

Meanwhile, some provisions in the new guidelines have come in for criticism from health activists since they believe that the decision to allow spot registration does not gel with a scenario where the administration is imposing strict measures due to the prevailing high test positivity rate of over 25 per cent.

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