Registration for the second phase of covid-19 vaccination drive opened to a bumpy start as many users were unable to log into Co-WIN (covid vaccine intelligence network) and portal due to one-time password (OTP) related glitches. As reported by many on microblogging platform Twitter, the OTP required to log in to Co-WIN never turned up or was received after multiple attempts.
The second phase of the covid-19 vaccination drive will cover senior citizens above 60 years and people above 45 years with co-mborbidities. Eligible citizens can register for the vaccine and schedule their vaccination slots at the nearest vaccination centres through the Co-WIN 2.0 platform or Aarogya Setu- the contact tracing app.
Co-WIN platform was created to track delivery, utilization and distribution of covid-19 vaccine in real time at national, state and district level.
The first phase of registration drive, which started in January and covered front line workers, including medical professionals, was also marred by technical glitches in Co-WIN platform, resulting in lower registration and vaccination turnouts in several states.
Government has made several efforts to improve Co-WIN. In December 2020, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) had announced a grand challenge inviting innovators and startups to build and integrate their solutions via API to strengthen the platform. Cash prize of ₹40 lakh and ₹20 lakh was set aside for top two contestants.
Login issues are very common with citizen-centric services. Last year, several users were unable to login to Aarogya Setu due to some technical error which was later resolved.
Technical glitches are not the only issues dogging the platform. Weeks before the official Co-WIN app was launched, several fake apps with similar names had started circulating on Google Play Store. MoHFW had to issue advisory cautioning citizens about fake Co-WIN apps created by unscrupulous elements.
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