India’s CoWin vaccine booking system is a nightmare

Nimisha Niranjan was mindlessly tapping through her Instagram stories on the night of May 18 when one of the posts grabbed her attention. The post had a WhatsApp number that people could contact to book a Covid-19 vaccine slot for people between the ages 18 and 45. Niranjan, 22, had been trying to book a jab for weeks and thought this could be her way to get vaccinated.

She sent a message immediately asking if the unknown person could book a vaccine slot for her. The person said they could. They said they were getting “early notification” of slots opening up and would charge 3,000 rupees (£29.10) to provide “assistance” to people booking. “This money was not even for the vaccine but just to book the slot,” says Niranjan, who works in the hospitality sector in Bangalore. “They asked for my ID details. I thought it was a scam and denied it right away.” Apart from being uncomfortable sharing her Aadhaar (India’s national ID) details with a stranger, she was also irked by the idea that they were charging money for something that is provided for free.

Over 3,000 kilometres away from Niranjan, in the northeastern part of India, a similar situation has been playing out. A group of individuals in the state of Assam have created a mechanism that has automated 70 per cent of the online vaccine booking process, which helps them book slots faster, charging around Rs 400 – although this is dynamically priced based on different cities – to anyone who asks them for help.

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