The government today said that it has been proactively carrying activities towards preparing for the nationwide roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine in close collaboration with States and Union Territories and all stakeholders. The country's nation-wide vaccination drive will begin on the 16th of this month.

Health Ministry today held a video conference with administrators from States and UTs on the CoWIN software which forms the backbone of the last-mile vaccine administration.
 

The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat COVID-19, Ram Sewak Sharma. The meeting was attended by the State Principal Secretaries, Mission Directors of National Health Mission, and State Immunisation officers. During the meeting, the feedback of the States and UTs on the Co-WIN software and its operational use, emanating from the dry runs, was discussed in detail.

 
Addressing the participants, Mr. Sharma said that robust, dependable, and agile technology shall form both the foundation and the back-up for the country’s COVID-19 vaccination which shall be the world’s largest immunization exercise. He stated that the process should be citizen-centric, and built on the approach that the vaccine shall be available anytime and anywhere.
 
Speaking on the use of the Aadhar platform, he advised the States to urge the beneficiaries to seed their current mobile number with Aadhar for registration and consequent communication through SMS. He pointed out that it is extremely important to clearly identify the person who is getting vaccinated and keep a digital record of who gets vaccinated by whom, when, and which vaccine.