From May 8, the CoWIN app will include a new feature of a ‘4-digit security code’ for beneficiaries receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Before being administered the vaccine dose, the beneficiary will have to share this 4-digit code with the vaccinator, before recording their vaccination status in the CoWIN system. The feature has been announced following complaints from people who had registered for vaccination and later did not show up for the appointment, but were recorded as having been vaccinated in the CoWIN platform. The Ministry of Health has said that such discrepancies were a result of “data entry errors” by the vaccinator, and that the security code feature has been introduced to minimise such errors.
“It has been noticed in some instances that citizens that had booked their appointment for COVID-19 vaccination through the CoWIN portal, but did not actually go for vaccination on the scheduled date, have received notification through SMS that a vaccine dose has been administered to them. In order to minimise such errors and the subsequent inconvenience caused to the citizens, the CoWIN system is introducing a new feature of “4 digit security code” in the CoWIN application from May 8, 2021,” a release from the Ministry of Health said.
The feature will be applicable only for those who book their vaccination slot online. The 4-digit security code will be printed in the appointment acknowledgement slip, and will also be mentioned in the confirmation SMS received on successful booking of appointment. This security code will not be known to the vaccinator in advance.
Before administering the vaccine dose, the beneficiary will have to share the 4-digit code with the vaccinator, which will have to be entered into the CoWIN platform to record the vaccination. “This will also reduce the opportunities of impersonation and wrongful use of flexibilities provided in CoWIN for facilitating vaccination coverage,” the Health Ministry said. After receiving the vaccine dose, the beneficiary must receive a confirmation SMS about the successful vaccination and the digital vaccination certificate, the release said.