CHENNAI: Amid the threat of a fresh wave of Covid in India, a student from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has developed a mobile app that tells users how much immunity they have developed after getting vaccinated.
“I launched this app on May 1 as the first step of my campaign to raise funds for Covid-affected families. I will later try crowdfunding and developing a website to raise global support,” the student, Ashwani Chaudhury (20), explains.
When asked how he implemented his idea of developing the app, the final-year Information Technology (IT) student says, “Over the past two months, I read 10-15 research papers from reputed universities, and based on their findings, I developed an algorithm to calculate one’s immunity level after each dose of the vaccine. I want to donate all the money earned through this app to Covid-hit families.” The Android application, called ‘Immunity Checker’, asks users to enter their name, age, name of vaccine, and gap between the first and second doses.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, associate professor from VIT’s Department of Communication Engineering, expressed his support for Ashwani’s campaign, saying, “I think this is a noble initiative, and the general public should be made aware of it.”Regarding the accuracy of the app, Dr Manish Goswami, from Dayawati Memorial Clinic, says, “It is very helpful in raising awareness about one’s immunity after receiving a dose of the vaccine. For healthy people without comorbidities, the app has an accuracy of between -5 per cent to +5 per cent,” and adds that it could be a game-changer with more updates and features.
“I have got more than 100 downloads so far, and the response has been amazing. A few students from my college also called and offered to help in the campaign. I told them to just support the initiative,” Ashwani says. The working of the app is based on research published in The Lancet, a renowned international science journal, which says 100 per cent immunity is developed six months after getting vaccinated.