Co-WIN ready for phase 3 of covid vaccination with some tweaks

On Tuesday, nearly 300,000 new cases were confirmed across the country. (REUTERS)Premium
On Tuesday, nearly 300,000 new cases were confirmed across the country. (REUTERS)
 2 min read . Updated: 21 Apr 2021, 08:56 PM IST Leroy Leo

The government's Co-WIN software, which is used to monitor covid-19 vaccination, will be ready to meet the surge in demand expected when vaccination is opened up for all adults as it would require simple tweaks in criteria and also increase in servers to handle the increased load, National Health Authority chief executive officer R.S. Sharma said. Sharma is also the chairman of Co-WIN panel.

“They will continue to use the Co-WIN platform as they are using now, except the criteria for phase 3 will change. At the private hospitals, the default criteria would be 18 years plus and the criteria at government hospitals will be 45 year plus for central government supplies. State governments can have their own criteria. This is how it will be managed," Sharma said.

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According to the policy for phase 3 of the vaccination programme, all adults can be vaccinated starting 1 May. Those who are below 45 years of age or not healthcare and other frontline workers will not qualify for the Central government’s free doses and will have to buy them from the private hospitals.

Half of all the vaccines produced and sent to Central Drugs Laboratory for testing will go directly to the Centre for its existing vaccination programme. Vaccine makers will have to supply the other half to states and to the private market at a “pre-determined price".

Unlike previous months, when vaccines were routed to private hospitals from the government, now private hospitals can directly procure the vaccines from the manufacturers.

However, while the government has liberalised the vaccination policy, it is not allowing sale of the vaccine at retailers and pharmacists in the open market, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Wednesday.

The change in vaccination policy for the country is expected to significantly increase demand. In April so far, the month when India opened up vaccination for people above 45 years of age, over 65 million doses have been administered across the country.

In March, only healthcare and frontline workers, senior citizens, and those between 45-60 years of age with serious comorbities were eligible for vaccination, and the country had then administered around 50 million doses.

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With administration of vaccines expected to increase, there is likely to be a much higher load on the Co-WIN, but Sharma said that the platform will be ready for it.

“Capacity is not constraint," Sharma said, adding that servers can be added if needed.

The need for expanding the scope for vaccination comes amid a sharp surge in the number of covid-19 cases in the country as part of the second wave. On Tuesday, nearly 300,000 new cases were confirmed across the country.

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