Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh will receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca by January 25 from the Serum Institute of India, authorities have said.
“Beximco Pharma told us that the vaccine will arrive in Bangladesh between January 21-25. It will be stored in Beximco’s warehouse,” Director General of Health Services ABM Khurshid Alam said on Monday.
The drugs will then be sent to different districts of the country following a list by the health directorate, Alam said.
He added that the second dose of the vaccine would be administered two months after the first shot, as per new instructions from Oxford-AstraZeneca.
That means five million people will be inoculated against Covid-19 in the first phase, he said.
The government is going to launch online registration for Covid-19 vaccine recipients from January 26, DGHS said.
Addressing the press briefing, DGHS officials said about 7,344 teams — each consisting six members — will work across the country for vaccination.
Around 7,500 of vaccine centres will be set up across the country in phases to conduct the inoculation drive.
At the briefing Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) of the DGHS said, Bangladesh is going to kick off the vaccination drive against Covid-19 on the first week of February.
Beximco Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rabbur Reza said, Serum Institute of India will export Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh in between 21-25 January.
He also said, “The government’s 50 lakh doses is assured in the first lot, however the 10 lakh doses of commercial deal have not been confirmed yet.”
At first, vaccines will be given to hospital health workers and volunteers working with Covid management to a limited number.
Later step by step other citizens’ like freedom fighter, member of law enforce agencies, govt. employee, journalists , Representatives of the people, religious leader and others. Bangladesh will get the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum Institute of India. The government has purchased three crore shots of the vaccine from Serum for $4 per shot, according to the tripartite agreement signed between it, SII and Beximco Pharmaceuticals on November 5 last year.
How you can register for Covid-19 vaccine
As the Covid-19 vaccine is likely to arrive in Bangladesh by January, the government is on the final stage of making a mobile application for the vaccination programme.
You can get registered through the mobile app to avail the Covid-19 vaccine.
Here’s how you can get registered
After downloading the app, you will need to register with your mobile and NID numbers.
Afterwards, you will have to give input of your detailed information like name, date of birth, NID number. There is also data field for informing about the condition of comorbidity, occupation in the app.
Dr Md. Habibur Rahman, director of Management Information System (MIS) has confirmed the news saying, “The app is now on final stage. It will be launched on Google Play once it is completed. Smartphone users need to register for vaccines through this app.”
“Everyone can register automatically by downloading the app on their mobile phones. It will be open for everyone. People who are in the priority list of getting the vaccine will also have to register first,” he added.
Some 25 lakhs people will be allowed to register each month, said the official.
