In late 2020, even before the Covid-19 vaccines had arrived, the Government of India had commenced preparations for launching the world’s largest vaccination drive. Not only would this be a huge exercise, but it was also needed that we reach the vaccines to the most vulnerable first. It had to be done in a transparent and orderly fashion, without unnecessary stress for the population or the medical system.
Our prime minister foresaw that India would need an end-to-end digital solution to support every step of the process. In a crisis, when all resources are stretched to the limit, such a system could help optimise resource utilisation for maximum coverage and efficiency. This led to the beginning of the CoWIN journey in January 2021.
CoWIN, or the Covid-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network, was developed in a record time, with consideration given to scalability, modularity, and interoperability. With rampant lockdowns amidst the pandemic, a virtual office was set up on a video conferencing platform and different teams, including developers from various parts of India, worked remotely. On January 16, 2021, the PM unveiled CoWIN along with the launch of the national Covid-19 vaccination campaign. This marked the beginning of a story that touched over a billion lives in less than 18 months. The journey of CoWIN, as we see it today, was staggered across three major phases, with multiple additions subsequently.
In phase 1, the registration process went online where healthcare workers and frontline workers were sent system-generated notifications about their vaccination schedule. Due to the nature of their jobs, many were not able to attend their vaccination appointments. The government learnt its lesson and shifted from a supply-driven to a demand-driven approach for vaccinations.
This was a key learning in making access to vaccines ubiquitous. In subsequent phases, beneficiaries were allowed both walk-in and online vaccination registration, along with the choice of location and time slot as per their convenience. An assisted mode was also made available through the 240,000+ Common Service Centres (CSCs) and a helpline number.
With a country as diverse as ours, inclusivity was a key design principle for CoWIN. The platform has been made available in English and 11 regional languages to allow citizens across multiple states to access the platform with ease. To circumvent the lack of digital access, the platform allows for up to six members to be registered under one mobile-number linked account.
Read More at https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-cowin-story-started-with-the-pandemic-but-it-wont-end-with-it-7956262/lite/
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