Government of India has been supporting the efforts of States and UTs under the ‘Whole of Government” approach for ensuring smooth and effective vaccination drive since 16th January this year. The Union Government 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 COVID Vaccine Distribution System.

It has been the constant endeavour of the Union Government to streamline the vaccination process for its universalization. In this backdrop, the Union Ministry of Health has written to the States/UTs today to include the Unique Disability Identification (UDID) Card as a Photo ID while registering on Co-WIN 2.0. As per the Guidance note for Co-WIN 2.0 issued on 2nd March 2021, seven prescribed Photo IDs were specified and prescribed for verification of beneficiary prior to their vaccination.

In the letter written to the States and UTs, the Union Health Ministry has stated that the UDID card, issued to persons with disability by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, 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 document for COVID-19 vaccination. The necessary provisions for same are being made and would be available in Co-WIN shortly.

The Union Health Ministry has advised the States and UTs to widely publicise the use of UDID card as a permissible photo ID for accessing COVID Vaccination.