As the COVID-19 vaccination drive progresses in Kerala, the government has expanded the list of people who are considered as frontline workers and are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccination on a priority basis. The booking of slots has also been streamlined through the state government’s COVID-19 vaccination portal. It is to be noted that the state government vaccination portal is only to streamline the vaccination process and everyone getting vaccinated has to initially register themselves on the Co-WIN portal.
When the vaccination drive for those below 45 years of age rolled out in the state earlier this month, priority was announced for people with comorbidities and those going abroad. While individuals could book vaccine slots under the above two categories, now for the frontline workers category, employers of organisations can book slots for multiple employees together on the state's vaccination portal.
Those included under the frontline workers category include: all workers in oxygen manufacturing plants, oxygen distribution centres, oxygen filling centres, drivers of oxygen tankers; people with disabilities; field staff of Indian Railways, Railway TTE and drivers; airport field and ground staff; Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s drivers and conductors; field journalists of media; vendors at fish markets; vendors at vegetables markets; Horticorp field staff; Matsyafed field staff; Consumerfed field staff; KSEB field staff; Kerala Water Authority field staff; petrol pump workers; ward health members; Sannadhasena volunteers; home delivery agents; head load workers; newspaper distributors; milk distributors; staff at check posts; staff at toll booths; hotels and restaurants staff; staff of shops providing essential supplies; citizen services centres staff; ration shops staff; geriatric care workers; palliative care workers; beverages corporation workers; field officers of Labour Department; field officers of Telecom Department.
> All employees under the frontline workers category intending to get vaccinated should be registered on the Co-WIN portal.
> Following this, through the state’s portal, employers or nodal officers designated by the employer should register themselves using Aadhar card, after opting for the ‘frontline worker’ option.
> Details of the employer should be filled in, including the district, organisation type (private or public). For government organisations, an employer's official identity card should be uploaded. If private, the LSGD license number and document supporting the same are to be uploaded.
> After successful registration, the employer then needs to fill in the details of employees including Co-WIN registration number, mobile number and preferred vaccination centres. There is also an option to bulk register employee details by uploading (excel) document.
> The request will be assessed by the concerned district health department.
> Once the request is approved or rejected, SMS will be sent to the requested employer by the district health team.
> If vaccination is scheduled, an SMS will be sent to individual employees mentioning the vaccination centre, date and time slot.
A user manual on the portal is also provided to guide users. For people with comorbidities, medical certificates issued by medical practitioners are to be uploaded to book slots.
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