CoWIN Launches API To Verify Vaccination Status Without Vaccine Certificate

As more and more people get vaccinated in India, cities and towns are slowly unlocking. And today for visiting any public place -- like malls, offices, travelling in public transport etc, you¡¯re asked to show your vaccine certificate to confirm if you¡¯ve received both the doses of vaccination.

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However, looking for the certificate every time you want to visit a public place can be a really cumbersome process and even unnecessary as not everyone needs to see the certificate -- some just need to confirm the vaccination status.

To allow this to be conveyed in a digital, effortless manner, CoWin has launched an API that would allow an app to check for a user¡¯s vaccination status.

Dubbed Know Your Customer/Client¡¯s Vaccination Status, the API works in tandem with a user¡¯s mobile number. The API would ask for their number and soon after they¡¯d receive an OTP.

After entering the OTP, CoWIN will send a response to the verifying entity on the individual¡¯s status of vaccination: 0 stands for a person not vaccinated, 1 stands for person partially vaccinated and 2 stands for a person fully vaccinated. The response will be digitally signed and can be shared instantly with the verifying entity.

Also Read: CoWin App: 1.3 Crore Indians Sign Up In 8 Hours, But No Vaccine Appointments

What about user privacy?

As per the official release, the API promises to be "privacy-preserving", although it doesn¡¯t really clarify how it plans on achieving that. It is surely consent-based as it not only requires the user¡¯s registered number but it also requires an OTP. Without the OTP, one cannot verify their vaccination status.

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However, we still don¡¯t have clarity on how the data will be used by the apps using the CoWIN API? How would the data be conveyed to them and will they maintain user privacy? These are some questions that surely need to be answered.

What do you think about CoWin's new API? Will it make our lives simpler? Tell us in the comments below. For more science and technology news, keep visiting Indiatimes.com.