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Good morning!

There’s only one way out of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic — vaccines. India has expanded its vaccination drive to include every adult person, but with the increasing demand for COVID-19 vaccines and limited stocks, many people are finding it difficult to book slots.

To aid people in finding COVID-19 vaccination slots, Bengaluru-based digital wellness startup HealthifyMe launched a new portal, ‘Vaccinateme.in’.

The portal is built using CoWIN API and enables people to find the available vaccination slots in real-time in their area or district. 

The platform uses several filters — such as pin code, district, age, choice of vaccine, and free or paid vaccination centres — to make the search more personalised. HealthifyMe is also planning to add more features and filters over the next few days.

Meanwhile, India’s Twitter rival, Koo, is also undertaking initiatives to make it easier for people to find hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, and other equipment. It is also developing a new feature that would notify users about vaccine availability.

Read about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools and links that can help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

The Interview

India is firmly in the grip of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with several states under lockdown, it is causing a lot of uncertainty. Morgan Stanley MD Rajat Mathur says that we need to stay calm and stay positive to tide the storm out. He also says that organisations are facing the need to re-invent themselves, and the pandemic has accelerated the changes.

Editor’s Pick: 100x Entrepreneur

After finding out that their daughters needed toxin-free products, Malika Datt Sadani and Mohit Sadaani started researching and eventually began to manufacture themselves. In 2016, they founded The Moms Co to provide toxin-free products for prenatal and postnatal consumption, and baby care. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Ensuring mass COVID-19 vaccination for free

Vaccines are the only way out of the coronavirus pandemic, and India needs to ensure that the vaccine supply reaches more people quickly. MyVacc, which was started to vaccinate children at home, is now assisting Bengaluru’s civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), during the second phase of the vaccination drive. Read more.

News & Updates

• Koo is undertaking a slew of initiatives, including making it easier for people to find leads for hospital beds and oxygen cylinders. It will allow potential plasma donors to sport badges on their profile pictures and a new feature would notify users about vaccine availability.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“We need the vaccines and people to give the vaccines to, but digital backbone is important and India has developed something that is truly remarkable.”

— Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder, Infosys

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