False: Appointments for COVID-19 vaccination in India can be booked via the telegram app.

By: Ankita Kulkarni
May 28 2021

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Appointments for COVID vaccination can only be booked through the dedicated government portals and not on social media platforms.The government decided to kickstart Phase 3 of the vaccination drive for people above 18 years. However, due to a shortage of vaccines, the drive was temporarily halted in some states. As people raced to book a slot on the CoWIN, the official portal for vaccine registration and appointment, many could not find the slots due to heavy rush and hundreds of slots being booked within minutes. Amid the chaos, a viral image is shared on social media claiming that vaccination appointments can be booked on Telegram using 'MyGov Corona Vaccine Appt.' However, the government's fact checking tool has put out a tweet saying that the image is morphed and slots can be booked only on cowin.gov.in, UMANG, or Aarogya Setu app. The said Telegram account is not associated with @mygovindia. Several apps have been using the API link on the Cowin portal and alert the users about the availability of the vaccine slots in their region. They have access to real-time data, which is being used to book slots within minutes. Some had opened websites or Telegram channels to notify the users about vaccination slots. Even then, the bookings can be made on the official portal only, and hence we mark the claim as false.