NEW DELHI: In order to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of an individual, the Co-WIN portal has developed a new API called ‘Know Your Customer’s/Client’s Vaccination Status’, the Union health ministry said on Friday.
The ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) said that to use the application program interface( API), an individual needs to enter his or her mobile number and name after which they would receive an OTP which they have to enter. In return, Co-WIN will send a response to the verifying entity on the individual’s status of vaccination, which will be as follows – 0 – Person is not vaccinated, 1 – Person is partially vaccinated or 2 – Person is fully vaccinated. This response will be digitally signed and can be shared instantly with the verifying entity.
This can be useful in instances where an entity does not need to see the certificate in full and would just need to know whether an individual has been vaccinated or not, the statement said. A real-life example could be when at the time of booking a railway ticket, an individual will input the necessary details for buying the ticket and if required, the concerned entity will also get the vaccination status in the same transaction, with the due consent of the individual, the ministry said.
The ministry further said that the KYC-VS will facilitate all such use cases and more. It is both consent-based and privacy-preserving. Additionally, in order to facilitate quick integration and faster adoption, the Co-WIN Team has prepared a webpage with the API, which may be embedded in any system. This will allow for seamless integration with any system in no time. “Besides the use cases pointed out, this service may be utilized by any service provider, private or public, for whom verifying an individual’s vaccination status is critical for facilitating a service requested,” it said.
Currently, Co-WIN is already issuing a digitally verifiable certificate as proof of vaccination for each vaccinated individual. This certificate can be saved on a digital device (smartphone, tablet, laptop etc.) or stored in Digi Locker from where it can be digitally shared as and when required as proof of vaccination. Similarly, at entry points where such certificate is required (e.g., in malls, office complexes, public events etc.), it may be shown in both the digital and physical forms. However, there may be instances where an entity does not need to see the certificate in full and would just need to know whether an individual has been vaccinated or not. For instance, an enterprise/employer may like to know the vaccination status of its employees to resume functions in offices, workplaces etc.
The Railways and airlines may want to get the status of vaccination of the passengers who are getting their seats reserved in the trains. Therefore, the ministry said, there is a need to enable an Aadhaar like authentication service for the status of vaccination through Co-WIN. “To take care of these cases and others that may come up, Co-WIN has developed a new API called ‘Know Your Customer’s/Client’s Vaccination Status’ or KYC-VS,” the ministry said. Over 72 crore vaccine doses have been administered since the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 was flagged off on January 16 this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The ministry further added that as the socio-economic activities are being gradually revived while maintaining everyone’s safety, there is a need for a way to digitally convey the status of individuals’ vaccination to entities with whom they may be engaging for any or all reasons, as employees, passengers, residents etc.
