How to win Cowin

Just got my first jab today, and feeling kind of elated :)

Considering there are only a few vaccines being given in the 18+ category, it is really tough getting a slot on the Cowin app. Requires some effort and luck.

I am sharing the process I adopted, as it can be helpful for some people.

• First of all, getting a slot is like winning the fastest fingers first. A half-hearted effort won’t do, it helps to be in the zone
• Join the telegram app group through this website under45.in they send you real-time notifications of a vaccination centre that just opens available slots, with a pin-code of the centre. Install Telegram app to receive these notifications.
• Remember, open slots of a vaccination centre only remain for 10 seconds after a notification comes, as thousands of people are trying simultaneously
• Fix a dedicated slot of 60–90 mins every day, when one just focuses on quickly booking slots of vaccination centres opening in those 60–90 mins
• Keep the Cowin website open on a laptop for those 60–90 mins and just wait for the sound of notification to receive. Usually, there is a gap of 15–40 mins between two notifications, so you may get only 2–3 attempts during a 90 mins session. I know it is a boring task :)
• Try keeping the notification sound of Telegram distinct from other app’s notification sound, to ensure there is no confusion
• Do re-login on the Cowin website every 10 minutes, otherwise, it will ask to log in at a time when one is booking an available slot, and by the time login happens, slots will be closed. Remember we only have 10 seconds.
• The notification can be of any location within the district. It is a good idea to be not choosy and being willing to travel anywhere in the district. But still, one may not want to go to a centre 2 hours far away. So make a list of centres one wants to avoid by doing google maps research beforehand. As we won’t have time to look on google maps after receiving the notification. This was my anti-list being in Pune city (Lasurne, Baramati, Velha, Bhor, Manchar, Junnar, Palasdev)

And yes, be patient. I was able to book successfully after 10 failed attempts and 3 hours of effort spanning two days. But it is all worth it in the end :)