COVID-19: Want to locate nearest vaccination centre via WhatsApp? Here's how to do it

Amid the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the government is continually interacting with citizens and asking them to follow protocols like social distancing, wearing masks, and so on.

Meanwhile, Will Cathcart, a social messaging app Whatsapp's head, tweeted in support of Indians and said the popular app messaging platform has partnered with health care workers to operate helplines in the form of chatbots on the app. Among it is the MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, which was revealed in 2021 has now been updated to help you find a vaccination center closest to you. 

To everyone who wants to use the feature and use the MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, here is a step-by-step guide. 

Step 1: You need to save the number +919013151515 and then start chatting by writing "Namaste (Hello)" and wait for a while. 

Step 2: After some time the user gets an automated response and asks them to send their PIN code. 

Step 3: After a user enters the six-digit code and hits the send button, the chatbot will send out a list of vaccination centers near them.

There is also an alternate way as users can also visit wa.me/919013151515 which will take the users directly to the chatbot.

For the unversed, in order to ramp up the coronavirus vaccination drive in the country, the Indian government on April 19 had announced a "liberalised and accelerated" Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination from May 1.

Registration for everyone eligible started on the CoWIN platform and Aarogya Setu App from April 28. According to the Union Health Ministry, the registration can be done at cowin.gov.in.