The Centre on Tuesday, 5 January introduced a new mobile platform which will used for the rollout for COVID-19 vaccines in India. Named CoWIN, the app will be a one-stop digital platform to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CoWIN platform is currently under pre-production, thus it is not available for download on any app store. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) jointly announced this initiative.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on 23 December also announced a challenge asking innovators to enhance the system and announced a prize of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 20 lakh to top 2 contestants respectively. Innovators can register for the competition https://meitystartuphub.in/ till 15 January 2021.
CoWIN COVID-19 App: How to Use it?
The application is not yet released so you cannot download it on Google Play Store or Apple store. It is recommended that you do not download any other apps which are listed under a similar name or advertise similar features.
The CoWIN COVID-19 app is currently in the pre-production stage and initially only health workers will be registered.
CoWIN COVID-19 App: What Documents Will be Required?
When the app is launched, you will need a photo ID to register. IDs like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, and Driver’s Licence will work. Vaccine will be free for frontline workers, but the cost of the vaccine is yet to be announced for the public. Three types of registration will be available to common public: individual registration, self-registration and bulk registration.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)