CoWIN Portal Outage Persists Since Early August

Quick Summary:

• CoWIN Portal Outage: india’s CoWIN portal,a key tool for recording over two billion COVID-19 vaccinations,has been non-functional since early August,preventing residents from accessing certificates.
• impact on Citizens: Individuals like Bengaluru resident sohail Marakkar reported difficulties in downloading vaccination certificates essential for visa processing. DigiLocker’s third-party certificate feature is also affected.
• Government Response: A senior Union health Ministry official assured the issue would be resolved by Monday, September 6, 2025.
• Role of CoWIN Platform: The portal was developed with five modules encompassing functions such as registration, scheduling appointments, and issuing vaccination certificates. It handled eight vaccines and was promoted globally as a digital public good in 2021.
• Current Status of Vaccination Demand: A doctor in Delhi reported minimal demand for COVID vaccines at present; roughly one or two requests are seen in hospitals daily.
• WHO Report on COVID Trends: Between July 21 and August 17, 2025, WHO recorded declining global cases but noted increases exceeding 10% in 35 countries across Africa, Americas, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Indian Opinion Analysis:

The ongoing technical outage of the CoWIN portal highlights vulnerabilities within digital infrastructure relied upon during critical public health campaigns. While its immediate impact is limited due to decreased importance of vaccination certificates post-pandemic waves and widespread coverage of initial vaccine doses across India-issues like disrupted travel or visa processing underline gaps in ensuring user access to essential digital services.

This scenario also serves as a reminder that even celebrated technological solutions require robust maintenance systems to prevent service interruptions from disproportionately affecting individuals reliant on them during specific circumstances. Looking forward to its resolution may set precedence regarding accountability mechanisms for large-scale government-operated platforms tied closely with citizens’ lives.

Read more: The Hindu