RapiPay launches service to help COVID-19 vaccination search and registration

RapiPay has launched a tool on its website and app that links to COVID-19 vaccination data available on CoWIN on a live basis.

Agents, who use the platforms to help crores of customers conduct online payments and remittance services, will be able to use this redirected link to help customers register for COVID-19 vaccinations and book slots in their area, the startup said.

RapiPay's B2B app has more than five lakh installs from retailers and merchants, and its nationwide network of retailers (called RapiPay Saathis) exceed two lakh people.

This RapiPay feature is especially expected to help non-tech users in rural areas register for vaccination on the CoWIN app.

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"In this hour of need, all of us must do our bit to combat this pandemic...With this initiative, vaccination registration can be facilitated through our direct business outlets (DBOs), who use RapiPay daily for their business," Yogendra Kashyap, CEO of RapiPay said in a press release.

With the second wave of COVID-19 spreading the country's healthcare resources thin, vaccination has become imperative. The government opened up vaccination to the 18+ age group earlier this month, but the unavailability of slots and a shortage of vaccines have made it difficult for people to get inoculated in a timely manner.

As of May 8, 2021, only 2.5 percent of the total population in India had been fully vaccinated, while only 9.8 percent had received at least one dose, data from the government and health ministry showed.

India recorded 3.66 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the total tally to 2.26 crore. Daily deaths have breached previous levels and risen to 3,754, data released by the Union Health Ministry at 8 AM IST on Monday showed.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi currently account for 73.9 percent of the new COVID-19 cases registered in a day, the Union Health Ministry said, followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.