SMS, Aadhaar, DigiLocker: New Details On Covid Vaccination - 10 Points

Short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, the CoWIN app and its ecosystem will be used to manage and scale up the massive vaccination drive amid the pandemic

SMS, Aadhaar, DigiLocker: New Details On Covid Vaccination - 10 Points

Coronavirus: COVID-19 vaccination will start anytime soon; India has cleared two vaccines

Highlights

  • India is developing CoWIN app to inoculate millions of people
  • India has cleared two vaccines for emergency use
  • The government has prioritised groups who will get the vaccine first
New Delhi: Aadhaar authentication and SMS confirming vaccination in at least 12 languages are some of the features of the CoWIN app that India is developing to inoculate millions of people against COVID-19. Short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, the CoWIN app and its ecosystem will be used to manage and scale up the massive vaccination drive amid the pandemic. India has cleared two vaccines for emergency use - Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield developed by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. The government has prioritised groups who will get the vaccine first, including doctors, healthcare workers, police and others engaged directly in fighting COVID-19.

Here's your 10-point cheat sheet to this big story:

  1. There will be automated allocation of vaccination session via the CoWIN ecosystem, the Health Ministry said in the press briefing today. One of the authentication methods would be use of Aadhaar to prevent malpractice, officials said.

  2. There is a plan to create a unique healthy identity for those who wish to have it. There will be close reporting and tracking of any possible adverse effects after a person gets the vaccine.

  3. SMS in 12 languages will be sent to guide those waiting to get vaccinated and health workers engaged in inoculation. A QR code based vaccination certificate will issued after all the doses and people can store it in their mobile phone.

  4. The government's document storage app DigiLocker can be integrated to store and fetch the QR code based certificate. There will be a 24x7 helpline.

  5. The government said multiple dry runs have been held to test the software in the field at various stages of its development. It said over 90,000 people in 700 districts have been trained to use the software.

  6. The data of healthcare and other medical frontline workers have been uploaded on the platform, the government said, adding they don't have to register themselves.

  7. For population priority groups, the system will slot allocation for vaccination automatically. District Magistrates can decide the dates on which the vaccination sessions can be held.

  8. A dry run to check the best way to vaccinate people against COVID-19 and plug loopholes in logistics and training was held last week. This day-long drive tested the operational feasibility in the use of CoWIN application in a field environment.

  9. There were 285 session sites across 125 districts in all states and Union Territories. Based on the feedback of the dry r, the Health Ministry said it is ready to start COVID-19 innoculation within 10 days from the date of emergency use approval of the vaccines.

  10. The government said minor bugs were found in the CoWIN app, which has been solved. All states expressed confidence in the operational guidelines and information technology platform for the large-scale programme implementation, the government said.


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