Paytm rolls out pin code-enabled Covid-19 vaccine finder on mini app store

Digital financial services platform Paytm has rolled out a Covid-19 vaccine finder on its mini app store, which will help citizens check the availability of vaccination slots for a specific date by individually entering pin codes or district details along with the age group of 18 and 45 above. The data has been sourced on a real-time basis from the CoWIN API where a slot can be booked to take vaccination.

In case the slots are full for the near future, users can select the option for real-time alerts from Paytm once any slot is free. The automated process reduces the hassle and ordeal of refreshing the platform for new slots repeatedly.

“We are launching a new tool for users to find Covid vaccine slots and set for alerts when new slots open up for their locality. Paytm checks for availability real-time and alerts users via Paytm Chat when a new slot opens up,” said Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, on Twitter. “We are tracking all India 780 districts for vaccine availability,” he added.

The company aims to provide relief to the end-user to some extent by curbing the hassle of checking real-time availability of slots directly via the Paytm app and getting the jab at the earliest. “We believe that with the combined efforts of Government, organizations, and citizens, we are on the right track to recovery. Our priority is to build collective resistance to the deadly virus as a nation, thus catalyzing the process of herd immunity,” said a company spokesperson.

The platform was built in a matter of three days after the company struggled to find vaccine slots for employees and wanted to create something which would help everyone in that position, added the spokesperson.

The company had earlier announced that Paytm Foundation will be setting up oxygen plants in around a dozen cities as hospitals across India face oxygen shortage.