The Covid-19 pandemic completely disrupted the way the world works and forced billions to observe social distancing. But as the virus spread like wildfire, governments all across the world started researching ways to contain and eradicate it. Within months, potent vaccines were being tested, and finally, many are available in the market for mass vaccination.
While Covid-19 vaccines gave hope to humanity, the actual pace of vaccination has remained incredibly slow in populous countries like India. With less than 10% of the population fully vaccinated even after months of vaccination drives being organized, herd immunity is a far way off. The root cause of the low vaccination rate is that people are unable to find Covid-19 vaccine slots near them!
Even with millions of doses produced and imported every day, the average Indian is unable to access the life-saving Covid-19 vaccine. At TradeSmart, we saw millions of Indians experience this problem and decided to do something about it!
Information about the tool
TradeSmart has come out with a Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool, that can help anyone find vaccine slots available near them. You can search for specific Covid-19 vaccines and find vaccination slots available at both government and private centers in your area.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool by Tradesmart has been intuitively designed to help those users who are unable to find active slots on the CoWIN app and as a result, have been deferring their vaccination for months. This tool pulls real-time data from the CoWIN app to update Covid-19 Vaccine slots and give users visibility of available slots for the next 4 weeks.
The tool also comes with in-built notifications for those who are unable to find vaccine slots at the time of their search but would like to be alerted if viable Covid-19 Vaccine slots are available at a later date and time.
Covid-19 Vaccine Types in India
Following are the Covid-19 Vaccine types available in India:
| S. No. | Name of the Vaccine | Makers | Details |
| 1 | Covishield | Serum Institute of India, AstraZeneca | Covishield is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine, developed using a replication-deficient adenovirus and a spike protein.
The spike protein informs the immune system to develop antibodies and T-cells to combat a Covid-19 infection, whenever it occurs in the future. A single dose of Covishield is 0.5 ml and must be administered intramuscularly. |
| 2 | Covaxin | Bharat Biotech, National Institute of Virology (NIV), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) | Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine, developed using the Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero cell-derived platform technology.
Since it is an inactivated vaccine, it contains dead Covid-19 virus cells which can’t infect or revert to become pathogenic but can cause the immune system to develop a defensive response and produce antibodies. Covaxin doesn’t require sub-zero storage and is distributed in multi-dosage vials at 2-8 degrees Celsius. |
| 3 | Sputnik V | Gamaleya Research Institute | Sputnik V is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that is very similar in composition and functionality to Covishield.
Sputnik V also needs to be administered intramuscularly and is imported from Russia for the ongoing vaccine drive in India. |
| 4 | Moderna | Moderna, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) | Moderna Covid-19 is an mRNA vaccine that needs to be administered intramuscularly.
It is not produced in India but imported for ongoing vaccination drive. Although approved for use in India, Moderna is still not available in the market. |
Presently you can search for Covishield and Covaxin slots only through the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool by TradeSmart.
Covid-19 Vaccine Age Groups
The Covid-19 vaccine is currently accessible to two age groups – 18+ and 45+. The 45+ age group was opened first for vaccination and many free, as well as paid centers, are providing a higher number of slots for this age group only.
The 18+ age group was opened more recently and only limited slots are available for this age group, especially at government-run centers. It is easier to find Covid-19 vaccine slots for the 18+ age group at private centers.
COVID-19 Vaccine Finder
TradeSmart developed a Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool also known as Covid-19 Vaccine Slot Notifier. The tool is designed to help individual users find vaccination slots near them without the hassle of repeatedly logging in to the CoWIN app and missing the golden windows when the lucrative slots are actually available.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool has a simple user interface that comes with:
- Basic Settings: You need to select your state, district, and date to check slots for. With the basic settings filled, the tool starts monitoring slot information and presents updated results at 4-second intervals. You can also filter the centers based on your area’s PIN code.
- Filter and Alarm Settings: This functionality in the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool is designed for letting you further specify your slot results and set notification requests if no slots are available at the time of checking. Filter settings include the dose count, age group, vaccine type, and cost. The alarm settings allow you to keep the screen on and/or to play a sound whenever a matching slot is found.
Covid-19 Vaccination Slots
Covid-19 vaccination slots visible on the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool of TradeSmart are searched through CoWIN APIs that fetch real-time slot information from the CoWIN app. Based on the slot specifications selected by you, the information is filtered and presented in a tabular format. Slot filtering criteria includes:
- Date for vaccination
- PIN code
- Age Group (18+ or 45+)
- Cost (Free or Paid)
- Vaccine Type (Covishield or Covaxin)
At a time, you can view slots available on the date of your choosing and 7 days after that. The Covid-19 Vaccine Finder also shows the number of doses/slots available with each center on any given day.
Additional Covid19 Resources
- Even after getting vaccinated, the risk of infection remains with Covid-19, especially since the virus is still evolving and new variants keep emerging. Therefore, maintaining social distance and personal hygiene will continue to remain important.
- All Covid-19 vaccines have minor to considerable side-effects that start becoming evident between 1-8 days of getting the dose. These could include cold, fever, body ache, rash and pain at the injection site, loose motions, and enlarged lymph nodes.
- While the other symptoms subsist after a few days, if fever persists, then you must consult a doctor.
- All Covid-19 vaccines provide anywhere between 66% – 93% effective protection from Covid-19 infections. This means that there may be a slim, but still, a chance for you to get infected even after being fully vaccinated.
FAQs
How to use the TradeSmart Vaccine Finder tool?
Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool by TradeSmart is intuitively designed and very user-friendly. To search for a vaccine slot, all you need to do is fill three mandatory fields, i.e. your state, your district, and the date on which you want to get vaccinated.
If you want the convenience of finding a vaccination center near you, then you can filter the results by adding in your PIN code.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Finder also comes with filtering and alarm settings which you can promptly set from the same screen. To further specify your Covid-19 Vaccine slot search, you can filter the results based on the dose number (1 or 2), age group (18+ or 45+), vaccine type (Covishield or Covaxin), and cost (free or paid vaccination).
You can either keep the screen on to revisit the slot monitoring results or set an alarm that will play a sound as soon as a slot matching your requirements is found.
How to find Covaxin slot?
Covaxin is administered through 2 doses which must be 4 weeks apart. Using the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool by TradeSmart, you can find both first and second-dose slots in your area. You can find the Covaxin slots by:
o Step 1: Click on the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool.
o Step 2: Filling in your District name or PIN code to search for vaccine slots.
o Step 3: Selecting Covaxin as the type of vaccine for which you need to find slots.
o Step 4: If Covaxin slots are available, you can then proceed to the CoWIN app to book a slot and
get vaccinated.
o Step 5: If no slot is available, then you can either search for Covishield slots or set up an alert on
the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool to receive notifications for slot availability.
How to find Covishield vaccine slot?
Covishield must be administered through 2 doses which can be 12-16 weeks apart. Just like for Covaxin, you can find Covishield vaccine slots on the Covid-19 Vaccine Finder tool by logging on to the TradeSmart website and providing your PIN code or district name. Once done, you need to select the vaccine type as Covishield to find available vaccination slots for the next 4 weeks in your area.
