Done an online booking for COVID vaccination slot? know about CoWIN's 4 digit security code feature

GUWAHATI: The Union Health Ministry has added a new 4-digit security code feature to the CoWIN portal in response to complaints from several users that they received notification of vaccination doses administered to them while missing their CoWIN appointments made on the portal.

The "4 digit security code" for online bookings/appointments has been operational from today.

The decision was made after it was reported that certain people who had scheduled a COVID-19 vaccination appointment via the CoWIN portal but did not show up on the scheduled date received an SMS notification stating that a vaccine dose had been administered to them.

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Upon further investigation, it was found that it occurs mostly as a result of the Vaccinator incorrectly marking the person as vaccinated, i.e. a data entry mistake by the vaccinator.

What is CoWIN's new feature of 4 digit security code and how it works?

The government introduced this new feature to ensure transparency for verification. Before administering the vaccine dose, the verifier/vaccinator will ask the beneficiary for his or her four-digit code, which will be entered into the CoWIN system to correctly record the vaccination status.

This new feature will be applicable only for citizens who have done an online booking for a vaccination slot.

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The vaccinator will not know the "4-digit security code" that will be written on the appointment acknowledgment card. The four-digit code would also be included in the confirmation SMS sent to the beneficiary following a satisfactory appointment booking. The Appointment Acknowledgement slip can be saved and viewed on a mobile device as well.

This will ensure that the data inputs about a citizen's vaccination status are reported correctly for people who have scheduled an online appointment and only for those who make an online appointment and use the facilities at the location where the appointment was made.

This would also reduce the risk of impersonation and unauthorised use of CoWIN's flexibility features for promoting vaccination coverage.

Advisory for citizens:

• Citizens should bring a copy of their appointment slip (digital or physical) and/or their registered mobile phone with appointment confirmation SMS so that the 4-digit security code can be given for the vaccination recording process to be completed quickly.
• It is also recommended that the security code be sent to the verifier/vaccinator before the vaccine dose is given. This is important because the digital certificate would be produced after the vaccine dose has been administered.
• Since the digital certificate will be generated only after the vaccination record has been updated with the security code, the citizen must provide the security code to the vaccinator.
• After the procedure has been successfully completed, the citizen should receive a confirmation SMS. The vaccination has been verified by SMS. The process has been successfully completed, and a digital certificate has been issued. If the confirmation SMS is not received, the vaccinator/vaccination centre in-charge should be contacted.

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