India plans upgrade for digital platform to track vaccinations
India plans to digitize its Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) with the introduction of the U-WIN platform, which will issue digital vaccination certificates. All 13 vaccinations administered under India's UIP will be documented digitally on U-WIN. The platform will serve as a single point for registration, record-keeping, follow-ups, and issuing certificates. The move follows the success of India's Co-WIN platform, which was used for managing Covid-19 vaccinations and was offered to other countries. U-WIN has already been introduced on a pilot basis in a few districts.
India is planning to fully digitise its Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) and move to a new platform called U-WIN, which will issue digital vaccination certificates, the government announced on Friday, unveiling a mechanism similar to the Covid-19 vaccine management system Co-WIN.
Co-WIN is itself a platform that created by repurposing the digital platform used for Universal Immunization Program vaccine called Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system. India also offered the platform to other countries that showed interest in adopting Co-WIN.
Union health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, talked about the plans on the sidelines of G20 health ministerial in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on Friday.
All 13 vaccinations administered under India’s UIP will be digitally documented on U-WIN.
“The whole world has appreciated the initiative that India has taken in promoting digital health. India developed the Co-WIN platform that was there for the world to see. Indians travelling anywhere in the world did not need to carry a physical vaccination certificate. India efficiently maintained vaccination records digitally. Records were accessible digitally and it really helped to have digital vaccination certificates. Similarly, in days to come, India is moving to U-WIN that will have all 13 types of vaccines in children and will document data digitally and issue digital certificates,” told Mandaviya to news agency PTI.
Around 26 million children are born in India each year, according to government data.
According to people familiar with the matter, U-WIN has already been introduced in a few districts across the country on pilot basis.
“The platform is going to be a single point for everything related to vaccination under the government programme— be it registration, maintaining records, vaccination follow-ups, and issuing vaccination certificates. All newborns and pregnant women getting vaccinated will have their records on the platform,” said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.
Under the national immunization programme, vaccination is administered against Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Rotavirus diarrhea, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Haemophilus Influenzae type B.
The vaccine against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer in most cases is also being introduced in the national immunization programme for 9-14 year-old adolescent girls.
“U-WIN platform will be expanded for registration, recording, and reporting of vaccination numbers,” said the official cited above.
