Government adds 4-digit code to CoWin platform to get vaccine: Here’s what it will do

Gadgets Now / Published: May 8, 2021, 09:21AM IST

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Government adds 4-digit code to CoWin platform to get vaccine Heres what it will do

The government has admitted that there is a loophole in the system which lets people who have just registered for the vaccine to get a SMS that they have been vaccinated even if he or she has not received the vaccine. In order to fix the issue, it has now introduced a 4-digit security code to make sure only those who have registered get the vaccine.

The government believes that the new 4-digit code will “reduce the opportunities of impersonation and wrongful use of flexibilities provided in CoWIN for facilitating vaccination coverage.”

“It has been noticed in some instances that citizens that had booked their appointment for COVID vaccination through the CoWIN portal, but did not actually go for vaccination on the scheduled date, have received notification through SMS that a vaccine dose has been administered to them. Upon examination, it has been found to occur largely on account of the Vaccinator wrongly marking the citizen as vaccinated, i.e. an instance of a data entry error by the vaccinator,” said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a statement to the media.

From May 8, all registration on the CoWin system will come with a “4 digit security code” to ensure that the correct data entry is made and the vaccine is given to people those who have registered for it.

The “4-digit security code” will be printed in the appointment acknowledgement slip and will not be known to the vaccinator. The four-digit code will also be sent in the confirmation SMS sent to the beneficiary after successful booking of appointment. “The Appointment Acknowledgement slip can also be saved and shown from the mobile,” said the ministry.

“This will ensure that, for such citizens who have booked an online appointment, the data entries regarding vaccination status of a citizen, are recorded correctly and only for those who book online appointment and avail the services at the center where they have booked the appointment,” it explained.

Read More:

New CoWin API update may be ‘bad news’ for vaccine tracker websites

New guidelines for vaccination which you must take note:

You have to carry a copy (digital or physical) of the appointment slip and/or the registered mobile phone with appointment confirmation SMS, so that the 4-digit security code can be furnished for easy completion of vaccination recording process.

The security code may be needed to be shown to the verifier or vaccinator before the vaccine dose has been administered. This is important as the digital certificate would be generated after the vaccine dose administration.

Also, you will get a confirmation SMS after the process has been successfully completed. The confirmation SMS indicates that the vaccination process has been completed successfully and the digital certificate has been generated. If one does not get the confirmation SMS, one should get in touch with the vaccinator/ vaccination center in-charge.

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