India’s vaccination drive is in its third phase and all citizens above the age of 18 are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The government has introduced a central CoWIN portal for all users to register for the vaccine and book appointment slots. While the CoWIN portal offers a list of nearby vaccination centres, the WhatsApp-powered MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot has added a new functionality to make it easier for people to search for vaccination centres in their locality. To recall, the chatbot was launched last year.
The MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot on WhatsApp now offers the ability to find nearby vaccination centres. This chatbot was launched last year to help eradicate fake news and spread awareness about COVID-19. It crossed 1.7 crore users milestone in just 10 days of its launch. With the third phase of the vaccine rollout underway, the MyGovIndia Twitter account has tweeted that the MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot now helps people find nearest vaccination centre.
How to find nearest vaccination centre using WhatsApp
The MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot is available only on WhatsApp and you must be a member of the instant messaging platform to be able to take advantage of the new feature rollout. Follow the steps below to find the nearest vaccination centre.
- Save the number 9013151515 or visit this link to open the MyGoV Corona Helpdesk Chatbot.
- Type Hi or Namaste in the chat to begin the conversation
- An automated response will ask for a series of questions and ultimately your pin code where you reside in. Enter the pin code.
- MyGoV Corona Helpdesk Chatbot will then send the list of vaccine centre in the mentioned location.
Apart from WhatsApp, you can also look for nearby vaccination centres through the MapmyIndia platform or even the CoWIN platform. The homepage of the CoWIN website has a ‘find nearby vaccination centres ‘ feature and punching your PIN code will throw a list of all the registered vaccination centres in the area.