CoWIN is crown jewel of Digital India initiative, backbone of vaccination drive: Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday said that CoWIN platform is a jewel of Digital India initiative and has been a backbone of the country's vaccination drive.

"CoWIN is the crown jewel of our Digital India initiative. This platform shall go down in history for facilitating inoculation of a large percentage of the world's population with ease, while simultaneously ensuring complete transparency," Harsh Vardhan said at CoWIN Global Conclave.

The Union minister also added that CoWIN is the bedrock of India's vaccination drive that handles overall management of citizen registration, appointment scheduling, vaccinations and certification.

"The transparent system allows tracking of each dose of vaccine, monitoring of supplies at vaccination facilities to record the demand at a granular level. It has, in fact, enabled vaccine accessibility and inclusivity for all," he said.

The Union Minister also remarked that the COVID pandemic has brought humankind closer to work.

"We have observed collaborations at a scale and pace never seen before. Even though COVID19 enforced lockdowns and compulsion to maintain physical distance, it has only brought humankind closer to work together with greater collective resolve to overcome this unprecedented challenge," health minister added.

Talking about the vaccination drive and milestone the country has achieved, he said," India is inching closer to administering 360 million COVID19 vaccine doses. A feat achieved in less than six months since the launch of our vaccination drive and we are committed to inoculating our entire adult population by December 2021."

The Union health minister said that India is excited to offer the Co-Win platform as a technology tool that can be used for the greater public good around the world. Hopefully, countries will be able to gain value and benefit from the offering.

"Our CoWIN platform is a mirror of the success of the Digital India program which has witnessed a consistent upward growth trajectory, achieving numerous milestones and dotted with flagship initiatives," Harsh Vardhan added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared his thoughts at the CoWIN Global Conclave as India offered the CoWIN platform as a digital public good to other countries to run their own COVID-19 inoculation drives.

( With inputs from ANI )