On Monday, India administered a whopping 86.16 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses. The record-breaking vaccination was carried out on the first day of the Modi government taking back the mantle of Covid-19 inoculation unto itself. Up till now, the state governments had made a complete mess out of India’s vaccination campaign – after themselves demanding that the campaign be federalised. A formidable tool in the hands of the Centre has been the CoWIN platform, which is being used as a one-stop medium for citizens to register and book appointments for them to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
In a development which signals how India’s vaccination drive has stunned the world, more than 20 countries have shown interest in adopting the CoWIN portal to run their own inoculation drives. India, meanwhile, has agreed to share its CoWIN development and success story with such countries, so that they too can run smooth vaccination campaigns.
Among the countries who have expressed interest in learning about the CoWIN technology to run their own Covid vaccination programmes are Vietnam, Peru, Mexico, Iraq, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Ukraine, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Uganda. In a joint initiative by the Union ministries of health, external affairs and the National Health Authority, a virtual Co-WIN Global Conclave will be organised on June 30, which will see participation from health and technology experts representing countries across the globe, news agency PTI reported.
Dr R S Sharma, Chairman of the Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (Co-WIN) and CEO of the National Health Authority, in the context of India sharing its vaccine success story with the world, said, “At a global conclave, India will share its experience with regards to universal vaccination to fight COVID-19 through the digital platform. India developed Co-WIN as the central IT system for strategising, implementing, monitoring and evaluating Covid vaccination.” He added that CoWIN serves as the technological backbone of India’s mass vaccination campaign.
Especially when it comes to the vaccination of people between the ages of 18 and 45, the CoWIN platform has played an instrumental role in ensuring that vaccination centres do not get overcrowded, and that only those who have booked an appointment for themselves reach the centre on the specified date and time.
The CoWIN platform is helping India avoid chaotic scenes at vaccination centres, unlike in other countries, where people are having to reach the vaccination centres, get exposed to large crowds, be pushed and shove around and finally end up being told that the jabs at the given centre have been exhausted.
The Modi government deserves to be commended for preventing chaos around the country and for ensuring that citizens do not desperately scramble around for vaccines. India’s vaccination campaign is disciplined and digital. This is a bold deviation from the traditional methods of vaccination employed by even developed countries. Therefore, it is no surprise that countries from around the world want to learn the art of vaccinating from India.