India Coronavirus Dispatch: List of comorbidities that qualify you for jabs

Only Co-Win's web portal to be used for registration, spike in medical oxygen use, one phone number for four beneficiaries-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

IN NUMBERS: Over 12,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 12,286 fresh coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 11,124,527, according to a report in the Scroll. The new infections were about 21 per cent lower than Monday’s count. The country saw 91 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the toll to 157,248, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 168,358, while the total recoveries have surged to 10,798,921. As many as 14,854,136 people have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

One phone number can be used to register up to 4 vaccine beneficiaries

A single phone number can be used to register up to four people on Co-Win for the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination programme that will target the elderly and those above the age of 45 with preexisting conditions, a report in ThePrint said. "Except for the mobile number, the beneficiaries will have nothing else in common,” a statement from the health ministry said. Apart from a mobile number, registration will require a photo ID such as Aadhaar, voter card, passport, driving licence, PAN, NPR smart card, and pension documents with a photograph. Personal details such as gender, date of birth and comorbidities will also need to be punched in. Once registration is complete, three more beneficiaries can be added who will be linked to the same registered phone number. Read more here

The 20 comorbidities that qualify you for shots

The union health ministry has put out a list of 20 comorbidities that will determine if an individual between the ages of 45 and 59 is eligible for the second phase of the vaccination programme, a report in ThePrint said.

Some of the listed medical conditions include heart failure with hospital admission in the past year, moderate or severe valvular heart disease, diabetes (for more than 10 years or with complications) and hypertension on treatment. Read the full list here.

Only Co-Win's web portal to be used for registration

People looking to sign themselves up for the second phase of the vaccination programme can only do so on the Co-Win web portal and not on the mobile app, a report in TheQuint said. No Co-Win app has been launched yet for Apple's Appstore and the one on Google's Play Store is for vaccine administrators only, the union ministry clarified in a tweet. Read more here

Use of medical oxygen spiked four-fold in pandemic year

India's use of medical oxygen surged four-fold between February and September last year when Covid-19 cases peaked, a report in the Hindustan Times said. India was able to cope with the demand and avoid the sort of shortages experienced by countries such as Mexico. This was possible through a combination of changing existing rules by cutting through red tape and synergy between the government and private companies that provided a steady supply of supplemental oxygen, the report said. Read more here