With the impending third wave and the stead rise in Covid-19 cases across our country, people are trying to get vaccinated more so than before, ever since the government avail the vaccine to the masses with walk-in option, that is, without the pre-booking on the Cowin platform.
After all,
we know that prevention is better than cure but unfortunately we have no
cure, so getting the jab is only way to protect ourselves from the virus, keeping
in mind that the vaccine will only provide you with the necessary immunity and
does not stop you from getting further infected, but just decreases the gravity of the infection and limit the need to be hospitalized.
However,
there is still something you need to do once you are vaccinated, that is to
download your vaccination certificate, don’t overlook this fact because it will
be crucial in the near future. People who have traveling plans abroad will need
to link it with their passport, so whether you have only received the first
dose or the both of them, you need to download your certificate. This will also
grant you free travel around most of the states without getting a RT PCR test
done, but you may be required to follow their (the states) respective Covid-19 protocols.
You can
download your certificate either through the Cowin platform or can use the MyGov
Corona Helpdesk WhatsApp chat. When you open the Cowin portal, you will immediately
observe a ‘download certificate’ to the right side of the ‘book you slot’ option,
these choices are adjacent to each other present on the upper side of the
webpage.
You could
also download your documents using WhatsApp Chat by following simple procedure according
to the free press journal (https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/covid-19-how-to-download-vaccine-certificate-via-mygov-corona-helpdesk-whatsapp-chat):
1. The
Government of India had launched the MyGov Corona HelpDesk WhatsApp chatbot to
help people with COVID-related resources. But you can now use the chatbot for
downloading your vaccine certificate.
2. Add the
number - +91 9013151515 to your contact list, it is MyGov Corona Helpdesk
WhatsApp number.
3. Open
WhatsApp and on the search bar, look for MyGov number that you have saved on
your phone.
4. Open the
chat window when you find the MyGov contact
5. When you
open the chat, in the dialogue box, type Download Certificate.
6. When you
type out the command, WhatsApp will send you a six-digit OTP to your registered
mobile number. It would be convenient for you if you message from the number
that you had registered on the CoWin application for COVID-19 vaccine.
7. Find the
OTP and write it in the WhatsApp chat box with MyGov.
8. If you
have registered more than one user, WhatsApp will send you the list of people
and ask you to choose accordingly.
9. Options
like one, two or three will be given depending on the number of people you have
registered. Type out the number that you want the certificate for.
10. The
Chatbox will then send you the COVID-19 vaccination certificate. You can
download it on your phone.
Even the Congress
MP, Shashi Tharoor has praised the simplicity and swiftness of the platform through
his tweet stating:
"I’ve always acknowledged &
praised the Government when it merits it. As a critic of #Cowin, let me say
they’ve done something terrific. Send a@WhatsApp message “download
certificate" to 90131 51515, receive OTP & get your vaccination
certificate back by @WhatsApp. Simple&fast!,"
