Even as the process for the approval and use of Covid-19 vaccine gets into the final stretch in India - Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are ready to supply vaccines for the first phase - the Indian government has got down to get the whole things streamlined through an app aptly named Co-WIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work).
Quite simply, Co-Win system will be the digitised platform for the roll-out of the vaccine in the country. The CoWIN system will be a subset of Covid India Portal which provides end to end management of all the Covid-19-related matters.
The government has said that the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system, which provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperatures across about 25,000 cold chain points in the country, is being enhanced to address the needs for distribution and tracking of Covid-19 vaccine.
All info, from the location where vaccinations are carried out to the number of beneficiaries and the batch number, doses per vial and schedule of the vaccine, will be uploaded on the digital platform.
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CoWIN App - when will it be ready and how to register?
As of now, the CoWIN app is not ready to be downloaded on the PlayStore or the App Store for the use of general public. But it is only a matter of time before the government makes its available formally.
Currently, a few chosen users are given access to the platform, and only they can access the app. All of them are health care officials, who will be the first in line to get the vaccination.
Once the app is ready, it will have four modules — User administrator module, beneficiary registration, vaccination and beneficiary acknowledgment, and status updation.
The app will also issue electronic vaccination certificate.
The CoWIN dashboard will provide all information including name, age, mobile number, vaccination status, date and time of vaccination, place of vaccination, session site, health facility and name of vaccinator.
Once the app goes live, self-registration will be available after the health workers and senior citizens (over age 50) are vaccinated.
“Self-registration module will be made available in the later phases of implementation,” the government says.
Documents needed to register for CoWIN
The general public willing to get vaccinated can then register themselves. They have to upload any one of the officially recognised 12 identification documents.
They are: 1) Aadhaar card, 2) Driving licence, 3) PAN card, 4) Health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, 5) MGNREGA job card, 6) Official identity card in case of MPs/MLAs/MLCsPAN ,7) Bank Passbook, 8) Passport, 9) Pension document, 10) Official ID card in case of employees of central/state govt/PSUs/public limited companies, 11) Smart card issued under National Population Register and 12) Voter ID card.
Users will have three authentication options to choose from — biometric, OTP-based and authentication using date of birth etc. If it is successful, a green tick will appear against the entry.
The cost of the vaccine for the general public has not been announced so far.
