UDID Card Included in List of Documents Required for Covid-19 Vaccination: Govt

To further facilitate access to vaccination for persons with disability, the government has decided to include the UDID card in the list of prescribed photo ID documents for Covid-19 vaccination and the necessary provisions for the same are being made and would be available in Co-WIN shortly, the health ministry said on Monday. The ministry has advised the states and Union territories to widely publicise the use of the UDID card as a permissible photo ID for accessing Covid-19 vaccination.

The Centre has been supporting the efforts of the states under the "whole of government" approach for ensuring a smooth and effective vaccination drive since January 16. It has developed the CoWIN digital platform to streamline the process of vaccination for various categories of beneficiaries across the country. CoWIN provides the technological backbone to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for the Covid vaccine distribution system, the ministry said in a statement. It has been the Centre's constant endeavour to streamline the vaccination process for its universalisation. In this backdrop, the health ministry wrote to the states on Monday to include the Unique Disability Identification (UDID) card as a photo ID while registering on Co-WIN 2.0. According to the guidance note for Co-WIN 2.0 issued on March 2, seven photo IDs were specified and prescribed for the verification of beneficiaries prior to their vaccination.

In the letter to the states and Union territories, the health ministry has said the UDID card, issued to persons with disability by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has all the necessary features such as the name, year of birth, gender and photograph of the person, and meets the criteria for use of identification in Covid-19 vaccination. "Therefore, with a view to further facilitate access to vaccination for persons with disability, it has been decided to include the UDID in the list of prescribed photo ID documents for Covid-19 vaccination. The necessary provisions for the same are being made and would be available in Co-WIN shortly," the ministry said.

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