Last updated on June 20th, 2023 at 04:24 pm
India’s National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, the world’s largest, has been a success story in overcoming various challenges and administering over 220 crore Covid vaccine doses as of 6 January 2023, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman.
The vaccination programme, which began on 16 January 2021, initially aimed to cover the adult population of India in the shortest possible time and has since been expanded to include all persons aged 12 and above, and for the precautionary dose for those aged 18 and above.
The digital infrastructure of Co-WIN, a comprehensive cloud-based IT solution for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating Covid-19 vaccination in India, has been instrumental in the success of the programme.
The dual interface of the open platform made it scalable across citizen and administrator-centric services, provided real-time stock tracking at the national, state, and district levels, and issued digitally verifiable certificates.
The government’s vision of JAM trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) has also helped address the digital divide and digital exclusion by allowing multiple beneficiaries (up to six) to be onboarded using a single mobile number.
The Economic Survey highlights the progress made in the digital journey and the government’s focus on digital health service delivery. It also points out the importance of end-to-end digitization in the vaccination process as a means of achieving herd immunity during the pandemic.
India’s success in its National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme has been a testament to the government’s vision and determination in ensuring the well-being of its citizens.
