Beware of the fake website for the COVID-19 Vaccine registration!

Image Credits- pharmaceutical-technology.com

With the second phase of vaccination being started across the country for those above the age of 60 years and people above the age of 45 years with co-morbidities, a message is going viral on social media claiming that it contains the link to the COVID-19 vaccination self-registration portal. The message also has the website link attached to it. It mentions that PM Modi took his first dose of COVID-19 vaccination at AIIMS, Delhi and has appealed to every citizen who are eligible to take the vaccine. Further, it asks readers to click on the link below and self-register themselves ,post which they will receive an OTP on their mobile phones. One must register using their ID/AADHAR card.

The post mentions that, “First dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been given to PM Shri Narendra Modi ji at AIIMS today.Narendra Modiji appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free!

Register for COVID 19 Vaccination on the following link- 

Https://selfregistration.preprod.co-vin.in

Use your mobile number and get OTP and register using your ID / AADHAR card. It will start on or after 1st March 2021.”

Fact Crescendo has also received this message for verification on our WhatsApp Fact Line number- 9049053770

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by running a keyword search on Google regarding the online portal where citizens can get themselves registered for the COVID-19 vaccination.

We found a Press Release by PIB published on 28^th February 2021which stated that the next phase of the world’s largest vaccination drive for the age appropriate population groups will commence from 1stMarch 2021 (tomorrow). Registration will open at 9:00 am on 1st March 2021 (at www.cowin.gov.in).Citizens will be able to register and book and appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the COWIN 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu etc.

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Ministry of Health India’s official Twitter account also posted a tweet regarding the web portal for self-registration for the COVID-19 vaccination. The tweet stated “#LargestVaccineDrive Registration and booking for appointment for #COVID19 Vaccination is to be done through #CoWIN Portal: http://cowin.gov.in. There is NO #CoWIN App for beneficiary registration. The App on Play Store is for administrators only.”

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Further, we came across a clarification tweet by Press Information Bureau (PIB) in which they have clarified that a website ‘https://selfregistration.preprod.co-vin.in/‘ is impersonating the official ‘CO-WIN’ website and is asking users to register for COVID-19 vaccination using mobile number. 

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We also tried opening the link given in the viral message but we found that the website is unavailable.  

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has uploaded a user manual on their official government website for:

• Registration & appointment for vaccination
• Guidance note for CO-WIN 2.0
• CGHS empaneled hospitals
• Ayushman Bharat PMJAY empaneled hospitals

Conclusion- Fact Crescendo found that the viral post on social media is False. The viral website link is fake. We advise our readers to be cautious of such fraudulent websites, which aim at collecting personal data and information for malicious purposes.