COVID-19 vaccination dry run: States flag connectivity issue, urge Centre to allow offline registrations

File image of a healthcare volunteer receiving a dummy COVID-19 vaccine as part of an earlier vaccination dry run (Image: News18)

Ahead of the second nationwide COVID-19 vaccination dry run, several states have raised concerns regarding software, connectivity and broadband issues. Many have even asked the Union Health Ministry to upgrade its Co-WIN platform with details of the time and quantity of vaccine that will be made available to them.

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on January 7 held a virtual meeting with health ministers of all states on preparation and protocol for the dry run.

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The dry run is aimed at familiarising the state, district, block and hospital-level officers on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The drill will be held in three sessions at sites of 736 districts across 33 states and Union Territories, the health ministry said in a statement.

Jammu and Kashmir's representative asked the government to allow offline registrations and management of vaccine beneficiaries instead of the online Co-WIN system. "We have a serious connectivity issue with most state in the 2G network… Since the whole exercise is driven by the Co-WIN platform, this is a challenge," said Rajiv Bhatnagar, advisor to the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Read: Co-WIN app: Where to register for COVID-19 vaccine in India

Similarly, Kerala's Health Minister KK Shailaja asked Vardhan to provide a template for sample data collection for the elderly on the Co-WIN app.

Maharashtra's Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that while they have conducted the first dry run successfully, the state is facing software problems in 14 districts.

The Gujarat government also requested the Centre to allow an offline system of sharing information for remote places in the state where internet connectivity is an issue. The request was made by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel during his virtual discussion with Vardhan.

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"There are issues of Internet connectivity in remote as well as hilly areas of the state. In such a situation, the administration faces difficulty in sharing information about the vaccine with the beneficiaries. Thus, I request you to consider allowing an offline system for such areas," Patel said.

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The COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system -- a digitalised platform -- will be used to track enlisted beneficiaries for the vaccination and anti-coronavirus shots on a real-time basis. Poor internet connectivity may hamper the functioning of the platform.

More than 78 lakh beneficiaries have been already registered on the platform.

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