Free COVID-19 vaccines for all 18+ citizens, no registration required: Check date, price and other details

As the nation begins the COVID-19 vaccination for all adults, here are some important points to keep in mind before getting inoculated.

New Delhi: India will begin its free COVID-19 vaccination drive on Monday (June 21) for everyone above the age of 18. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an announcement that the central government will provide free vaccine jabs to states for inoculation of all adults and had also asserted that vaccine supply would be increased significantly towards the next month.

Here are some important facts about the COVID-19 vaccination drive:

All citizens above the age of 18 can get free vaccination at government facilities from June 21. Several states had already declared free vaccines for all.

States can make use the facilities of Common Service Centres and Call Centres to help citizens book slots for vaccination.

The Centre will buy 75 per cent of the total vaccine production from vaccine manufacturers and give it free to the state governments.

The central government also bears the responsibility of 25 per cent of the work related to vaccination with the states, an arrangement which was implemented in the weeks following the announcement.

The Centre has also taken additional measures to make the private sector a part of this drive by keeping 25 per cent of vaccines for private hospitals to procure. But they will not be above to overcharge as the price has been capped.

Though prior registration is not required, all vaccinations done by both public and private centres will be documented on the Co-Win portal.

Beneficiaries must ensure that they are registered on-site before getting inoculated.

If you are going to get vaccinated at a government hospital:

Vaccination will be free.

Prior registration on Co-Win is not mandatory, as the government allows on-spot registration starting from tomorrow.

If you are going to a private hospital:

Prior registration on Co-Win is not needed, on-site registration can be done as well.

Do not pay more than ₹1,410 for Covaxin, ₹790 for Covishield and ₹1,145 for Sputnik V, as the Centre has capped the maximum price of these vaccines at private hospitals.

How to verify a vaccination certificate:

As several cases of vaccine scams are being reported, it is important to check the authenticity of the vaccine certificate after getting inoculated. This is how you can verify the certificate:

Step 1: Go to verify.cowin.gov.in which has an option for Scan QR code.

Step 2: Click on the button that pops up.

Step 3: A notification will prompt you to activate your device’s camera.

Step 4: Point the camera to the QR code on the certificate issued and scan

Step 5: After verification, it will show the name, age, gender, certificate ID, date of issuance, the name of the vaccination facility etc.

Step 6: If the certificate is not genuine, a 'certificate invalid' message will be displayed.

(With inputs from news agencies)