Two first dose vaccine certificates? Use CoWIN to merge doses based on ID credentials

“My parents got the first dosage of the vaccine with one account and the second dose with another account. They registered twice by mistake using two different mobile numbers. Now they have two first dose vaccine certificates each, even though they got two doses. Please advise.” This is the testimonial of Vishal whose parents faced the two vaccine certificates issue via CoWIN. On a similar note, Anu said, “I am 60+. I took my first and second doses before registration became mandatory, as senior citizens could walk in for vaccinations. Unfortunately, both my certificates are showing "first" dose. I have two first dose vaccine certificates.”

Initially, CoWIN allowed the editing of minor details such as errors in name, gender or date of birth. The tweet, on the Aarogya Setu App’s Twitter handle, stated that users can make corrections in two out of three given conditions – Name, Gender and Year of Birth. Apparently, the CoWIN website now also allows the merging of two first dose vaccine certificates!

How to merge two first dose vaccine certificates?

In case you have multiple provisional certificates for the first dose, generated through different accounts, you can merge them here to generate your final vaccination certificate. “We only accept CoWIN generated certificates at the moment. State generated certificates will not be accepted in this request. Make sure your certificates have the official CoWIN mark,” the website states.

Step 1: Log in with the registered mobile number on selfregistration.cowin.gov.in. Enter the OTP you receive and the portal will display the dashboard. If you want to migrate both COVID-19 Vaccine Certificates into one account, add the person as the beneficiary. If you want to merge two certificates, select the mobile number where you want to merge.

Step 2: Now, in the top-right corner, you can see a tab – “Raise and Issue”, click on it. Under the tab, click “Merge Multiple Dose #1 Provisional Certificate”. Note that the portal will only merge the certificates in case the Beneficiary Name, Age, and Gender match. If there are any discrepancies,  first correct the details in the certificate.

Step 3: From your original certificates, enter the Beneficiary Ref. ID From 1st Certificate and the date. Repeat the same for the second tab via the other certificate. Checkmark the declaration form, which will prevent you from applying for another vaccination dose.

Step 4: Click “Submit Request”. Check all the details in the application and confirm the same.

The certificate does not auto-correct immediately and will take some time. You will need to keep checking the website for the update.