CoWIN portal will now let citizens download international vaccination certificate

Those who have to travel abroad can now download an international version of their Covid-19 vaccination certificate with their registered date of birth from the CoWIN portal. The certificate is in compliance with World Health Organization's international guidelines. The international vaccination certificate was released on September 30, 2021. Keep reading to know more details about the same. 

In a public announcement, RS Sharma, CEO at National Health Authority said that "building a world-class digital platform for vaccination, we have ensured CoWIN certification is compliant with the WHO-DDCC: VS data dictionary. Now, international travellers can download an international version of their certificate that reflects their date of birth from CoWIN." The international vaccination certificate will help Indians have quarantine-free travel in foreign nations. Recently, British authorities express their concerns about the format of Indian Covid-19 vaccination certification. Additionally, vaccinated travellers were considered unvaccinated. 

International vaccination certificates can now be downloaded from CoWIN

The international version of the Covid-19 vaccination certificate can now be downloaded from a new section of the CoWIN website called "International Travel Certificate." Previously, citizens have been able to download a certificate from the portal as well and the new feature will be visible right beside the tile for "Certificate." The new international travel certificate will include the registered date of birth of a citizen, number of doses taken, name of the vaccine, type and manufacturer of the vaccine and dates of the dosage taken. Additionally, batch numbers of the doses taken will also be mentioned. 

Previously, the CoWIN portal launched a new feature called "Know Your Customer's Vaccination Status" also known as KYC-VS. The API will allow authorities and verifying entities like employers, railways, airlines, and others to know whether a person is vaccinated against COVID-19 or not. The KYC-VS API was announced by the Union Health Ministry of India on Friday, September 10, 2021. 

The feature will enable businesses to check the vaccination status of an individual through the official CoWIN portal. In order to check the vaccination status of someone, entities will need the mobile number linked to the CoWIN portal, On entering the mobile number, the individual will receive an OTP, which can be shared with the verifying entity. While this procedure informs about the vaccination status of an individual, it also ensures privacy and consent.