New Delhi, Thirty-six government and private enterprises have so far integrated their mobile applications or websites with the union government’s CoWIN platform and 213 more have got the approval, officials from National Health Authority (NHA) said.
“Private companies like One 97 communication ltd (paytm), Spice money, Apollo hospitals and government institutes like ISRO, IIT Bombay, AIIMS Patna and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) have integrated themselves with the CoWIN API. The integration is live on their application,” a top official from NHA said.
The authority told UNI that it has received a total 291 applications from government & private organizations, of which, it has accepted 213.
According to the data shared by NHA, it has approved 18 government entities and 195 private companies to be integrated with the CoWIN.
The integration provides the users to search for vaccines and book the slots at platforms other than CoWIN. In June, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had allowed integration of CoWIN with third-party applications after releasing a set of guidelines. It allows developers to include the CoWIN API in their own apps, providing an in-app portal to get registered for the vaccine.
Dr RS Sharma, CEO, NHA and the brain behind CoWIN, said that the third-party integration of CoWIN will further aid in the mass vaccination drive against Covid-19.
“Third party integration is one more way to increase the inclusivity in vaccination programs. It is just like using aarogya Setu to book or search slots. More options of booking enhance the prospects of bigger participation. The footfall for vaccination increased when we introduced the Walk-in vaccination system,” he said while speaking to UNI.
Previously, giants like Facebook and Google to startups such as HealthifyMe had introduced a slew of tools to help people find slots for vaccination appointments. Platforms like Under45 and GetJab became popular overnight as they alerted users when vaccine slots opened up and then directed them to the CoWIN platform to secure an appointment.
(EW correspondent)
