Co-WIN launches new API: Know your customer’s vaccination status. how it works

To use this API, a person needs to enter his/her mobile number and name. After this they will get an OTP which they will have to enter. in return, CO Win send a response on the vaccination status of the individual to the Verifying Agency, which shall be as follows –

0 – the person is not vaccinated

1 – the person is partially vaccinated

2 – the person is fully vaccinated

This response will be digitally signed and can be shared immediately with the verifying entity.

A real life example could be when while booking a railway ticket, a person would input the details required to purchase the ticket and if required, the concerned entity would also get the vaccination status with proper consent in the same transaction. Of the person

KYC-VS is both consent-based and privacy protection. Additionally, to facilitate quick integration and rapid adoption, the Co-Win team has designed a webpage with APIs that can be embedded in any system. This will allow a seamless integration with any system in no time, the minister said.

In addition to the use cases indicated, this service may be used by any service provider, private or public, for which it is important to confirm an individual’s vaccination status in order to facilitate the requested service.

Currently, Co-WIN issues a digitally verifiable certificate as proof of vaccination to each individual after the dose is administered. This certificate can be saved on a digital device (smartphone, tablet, laptop etc.) or stored in Digi Locker from where it can be shared digitally as proof of vaccination.

Similarly, at entry points where such a certificate is required (for example, in malls, office premises, public events, etc.), it can be shown in both digital and physical form. However, there may be instances where an institution is not required to look at the certificate in its entirety and only needs to know whether a person has been vaccinated or not.

For example, an enterprise/employer wants to know the vaccination status of its employees for resumption of functions in offices, workplaces etc. Railways and airlines may wish to obtain the vaccination status of passengers who are reserving their seats in trains. .

Therefore, the ministry said, there is a need to enable authentication service like Aadhaar for the status of vaccination through Co-Win.

To take care of these cases and other cases that may come up, Co-Win has developed a new API called ‘Know Your Customer’s Vaccination Status’ or KYC-VS.