Registrations for vaccine appointments for those aged above 18 will begin at 4 p.m. on April 28, a Health Ministry spokesperson has confirmed to The Hindu.
A notification from MyGov.in, the Centres official data repository, also confirmed the 4 p.m. slot, adding, Appointments at State government centres & private centres depending on how many vaccination centres are ready on 1st May for vaccination of 18 plus.
People can register via the Arogya Setu and Umang apps.
With the Centre opening up vaccine availability to those in the 18-44 group from May 1, it had also announced registrations from April 28, but without specifying a time.
Several began attempting to register after midnight of April 27 but were unsuccessful. As of Wednesday morning, the Cowin web portal, disallowed registrations to those born after 1976.
Providing vaccines to those in the 18-44 age group now appears largely to be the responsibility of States. They are expected to negotiate with vaccine companies directly for 50% of the vaccines produced every month.
The Centre will have access to the other half and will continue with its free vaccination programme for those above 45.
So far, there have been no announcements by States of having signed any agreement with vaccine companies, though many have stated that they will provide vaccines for free.
Therefore, there is uncertainty on whether vaccines will actually be available from May 1 for those below 45.