Co-WIN crashes as govt opens vaccination for 18+

New Delhi: As the country opened registration for the third phase of Covid-19 vaccination amid an unrelenting second wave, the Co-WIN website crashed within minutes after it started. Soon, netizens, who had been eagerly waiting to get themselves registered for the jab from May 1, vented their ire on social media while some others derived a measure of creative solace by making memes out of it.

As vaccination in the third phase has been opened to 18-year-olds and above, many had planned to get early booking slots when the registrations opened. However, as lakhs across the country tried to access the portal at 4pm, the server couldn't take the load, and most were greeted with error messages instead.

Ones who got through the first few steps of registration hit a wall when the OTP (one-time password), which is crucial to verifying the details that they enter, never arrived. While most said they had anticipated a crash, given the record surge in Covid cases, there were others who said that they didn't expect the portal to cave in within a few minutes.

As more and more hit a wall while trying to register, '#crashed', along with '#CoWin Registration' started to trend on social media.

Even though the issue was resolved, many, who did manage to complete all the steps necessary for registration, complained that there was a dearth of available slots to receive the vaccine. From May 1, the State governments and private hospitals will procure 50 percent of total doses directly from the open market to vaccinate the 18-44 year age group. The availability of slots will depend on the availability of doses. Due to limited doses, several States will have their own priority groups within the 18-44 years age group. This state-specific information will soon get reflected on the Co-WIN when you can make appointments.