Anyone above the age of 18 years can walk into the nearest vaccination centre to get registered on the CoWIN digital platform and be inoculated against COVID-19, the Union Health Ministry has said.

Earlier it was mandatory to pre-register online or book an appointment to get the vaccine. The liberalised move is aimed at accelerating the inoculation drive further as the Centre has already taken over the procurement of vaccines and is providing them free of cost for everyone.

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The easing of the process for vaccination also aims to address the issue of 'vaccine hesitancy' which is one of the reasons slowing the inoculation drive in parts of the country, especially the rural areas.

Medical experts see vaccine hesitancy as a globally prevalent phenomenon that needs to be addressed scientifically by studying the issue at the community level. The Centre is sharing a 'COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Strategy' with state/UT governments, a senior official said.

The government is keen to ramp up the vaccination campaign as it holds the key to preventing the third wave that could hit the country. There are genuine fears on this score as people having already started becoming careless with the ferocious second wave being brought under control.

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On Tuesday the country reported fewer than 61,000 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest since March 31, as the second wave recedes.

Nearly 26 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in India so far, but the seven-day average dipped to around 13 lakh per day last month – when the second wave was at its worst. It has risen dramatically since then to a seven-day average of over 31 lakh per day. The government is keen to step it up further so that all eligible people, numbering around 108 crore, are inoculated by the end of the year.