CoWin: The Centre has called the application the foundation of its vaccine programme (File)
The central government on Saturday launched the vaccination drive against the coronavirus. The government has developed a mobile application, CoWin, which will be used later to manage the inoculation drive. CoWin (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) is not available for download as of now. When launched, people will be able to register for vaccination through the application.
The centre is currently inoculating nearly three crore healthcare and other frontline workers. The app, being used by officials, currently contains data of lakhs of healthcare workers who are first in line for vaccination.
Once the application is launched, it will provide three options for registration to the beneficiaries - self-registration, individual registration (an official would help by uploading data) and bulk upload.
It will have four modules - user administrator module, beneficiary registration, vaccination and beneficiary acknowledgment, and status update.
The application will help in identifying target groups, keeping a track of those to be administered the doses and preventing malpractices.
Text messages 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 be issued after all the doses are given, and people can store it in their mobile phone, it added.
The centre, earlier this month, said it will refer to the electoral rolls for data of those above 50 - a vulnerable group - and feed it into the application. "We will then open it for the public. If an individual finds that his or her name is not there, they can approach the district or block officer and can get their name registered. They can also self-register. Those below 50 who have cardiac diseases or cancer, they can upload their medical certificate into the system," Dr Suneela Garg, member of the Delhi COVID-19 task force, had said.
The central government has called the application the foundation of its vaccine programme. It has had several dry runs to test the application. Thousands of personnel have already been trained to use it.