CoWin goes global: Explained, what’s inside Covid vaccine platform the world is interested in – Times of India

The Indian government’s vaccination platform — CoWin — seems to have garnered a lot of global attention. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the CoWin global conclave today. At the conclave, countries that have expressed an interest in will be given a chance to adopt the platform for their vaccination drive. So what is CoWin and what technology has got the world interested in it?
What is CoWin?
CoWin stands for Covid Vaccine Intelligent Work. Back in January 2021, the platform was unveiled by the union government as it launched the vaccination drive in the country. The website was created to give users a chance to book vaccine slots, keep a track of the overall vaccination drive in the country and download the Covid-19 vaccine certificate.
At the backend, it also allows healthcare providers to manage vaccine stock and keep a track of the workflow.
What are the key features of CoWin?
As mentioned, the primary feature is to give users a chance to book a vaccine slot anywhere in the country. Users have to register on the CoWin platform with their phone number. Post-registration, they have to enter an OTP and then go ahead to book the vaccination slot.
CoWin also gives users the opportunity to download the vaccination certificate. Users can also add their passport details in the vaccination certificate.
Which countries have shown interest in CoWin?
More than 50 countries, as per the government of India, have shown interest in CoWin platform. These countries include Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, among others.
What technology will India be giving to these countries?
The government of India has made it clear that the code for CoWin will be made open source. The government won’t attach any intellectual property rights to it. The government said that the code will be given to countries that are looking for an “orderly and transparent vaccination program”.
The government will not allow any commercial use of the platform or for it to be repackaged in another form.
CoWin has been made more ‘open’ for other platforms
API or application programming interface allows two applications to work together. The government of India opened the CoWin APIs to third parties in April. The APIs are available on the API Setu website where details related to metadata, authentication, certificate APIs can be found.