Beware! ‘Fake’ Co-WIN Apps for COVID vaccine registration create confusion

New Delhi, Jan 06: Beware! Fake covid vaccination applications, similar to Centre's 'CO-WIN' have surfaced on app stores. This app is not the Indian government app for covid vaccine. Government has not yet publicly gave access to CoWIN app which is announced officially for registering citizens for vaccination.

"Some apps named 'CoWIN' apparently created by unscrupulous elements to sound similar to upcoming official platform of government, are on App stores. Don't download or share personal information on these. Department official platform will be adequately publicised on its launch," said Health Ministry in a statement.

One such misleading app available on Google Play Store named Cowin has been downloaded by over 10,000 people. The one-line description of the application reads, "Cowin is designed to help Indian citizens".

The app provides general data like the number of cases, deaths and recoveries from COVID-19. It also talks about the different symptoms, laboratories for testing and grocery stores.

What is Co-WIN app? How does it work

The central government has developed Co-WIN a mobile application, for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, recording data and to enable people to get themselves registered for vaccination. The app is almost in its final stages of implementation and hasn't gone live on Google play store or any other app store.

Meanwhile, states and UTs have collected data of healthcare and frontline workers who would be administered the anti-coronavirus vaccine on first priority and the data is being uploaded on the Co-WIN software, the ministry said.

• "Co-WIN digital platform includes a free downloadable mobile application which can help record vaccine data.
• One can register themselves on it if they want the vaccine. There are five modules in Co-WIN app -- administrator module, registration module, vaccination module, beneficiary acknowledgement module and report module.
• The administrator module is for the administrators who will be conducting these vaccination sessions. Through these modules, user can create sessions and the respective vaccinators and managers will be notified.
• The registration module is for people to get registered for vaccination.
• It will upload bulk data on co-morbidity provided by local authorities or by surveyors.
• The vaccination module will verify beneficiary details and update vaccination status while the beneficiary acknowledgement module will send SMS to beneficiaries and also generate QR-based certificates after one gets vaccinated.
• The report module will prepare reports of how many vaccine sessions have been conducted, how many people have attended those, how many people have dropped out etc.
• The mobile application will also send real-time data of temperature of the cold-storage facilities to the main serve.