Reza Mahmud :
Mass vaccination of covid-19 will start from tomorrow across the country targeting 35 lakh people in the first phase. But the slow pace of registrations has created uncertainty about reaching the goal, experts said.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque said, no one can get vaccine without being registered.
According to the Directorate General of the Health Services (DGHS), about 2,60,436 people registered their names to get covid jabs till Friday afternoon.
Vaccine registration website www.surokkha.gov.bd is open to all, since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the vaccination campaign on January 27.
Besides, the surokkha mobile app is yet to start functions though it was supposed to be done by February 4.
When contacted, Professor Dr. Nasima Sultana, Additional Director General of DGHS told The New Nation that the ICT Department is responsible for functioning of the mobile app.
Officials from the ICT department said that the app had not been Okayed for users. They would inform media whenever it will be functional.
In these circumstances, human health experts have worried that the slow registration may hamper vaccination campaign.
“As very poor number of people have been registered so far to get their jabs, the government should include all quarters like public representatives, health and administrative officials in villages, towns and cities across the country to inspire people for getting registered,” Professor Dr. Nazrul Islam, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University told The New Nation.
The Professor and Member of the National Technical Advisory Committee for Covid-19 said also that the committee would give focus on the issue to suggest the government in this line in its next meeting.
When contacted Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told The New Nation, “It is appreciated that the government is going to start mass inoculations against the covid pandemics.
But the registration pace is far below the target of 35 lakhs initially, which is very discouraging.”
He said that from the beginning of the pandemic WHO was insisting for both awareness and community engagement.
Bangladesh government’s awareness programs through media and other measures deserve appreciation, but it is very frustrating that they failed in engaging the community.
For vaccination, the authority should involve all people of the community to make the vaccination program successful.
Sources from the Health Ministry said, that the government has prepared the plan for vaccinating people with a target to give two doses of jabs to each of over 130 million people to eliminate the fatal virus.
As per the plan, a total of 138,247,000 people will be vaccinated in five stages.
Five million doses of Oxford- AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka on January 25.
Besides, on January 21, Bangladesh received two million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a gift from the Indian government.
On November 5 last year, the Bangladesh Government, SII, and Beximco had signed a tripartite agreement to import the vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Mass vaccination of covid-19 will start from tomorrow across the country targeting 35 lakh people in the first phase. But the slow pace of registrations has created uncertainty about reaching the goal, experts said.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque said, no one can get vaccine without being registered.
According to the Directorate General of the Health Services (DGHS), about 2,60,436 people registered their names to get covid jabs till Friday afternoon.
Vaccine registration website www.surokkha.gov.bd is open to all, since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the vaccination campaign on January 27.
Besides, the surokkha mobile app is yet to start functions though it was supposed to be done by February 4.
When contacted, Professor Dr. Nasima Sultana, Additional Director General of DGHS told The New Nation that the ICT Department is responsible for functioning of the mobile app.
Officials from the ICT department said that the app had not been Okayed for users. They would inform media whenever it will be functional.
In these circumstances, human health experts have worried that the slow registration may hamper vaccination campaign.
“As very poor number of people have been registered so far to get their jabs, the government should include all quarters like public representatives, health and administrative officials in villages, towns and cities across the country to inspire people for getting registered,” Professor Dr. Nazrul Islam, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University told The New Nation.
The Professor and Member of the National Technical Advisory Committee for Covid-19 said also that the committee would give focus on the issue to suggest the government in this line in its next meeting.
When contacted Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told The New Nation, “It is appreciated that the government is going to start mass inoculations against the covid pandemics.
But the registration pace is far below the target of 35 lakhs initially, which is very discouraging.”
He said that from the beginning of the pandemic WHO was insisting for both awareness and community engagement.
Bangladesh government’s awareness programs through media and other measures deserve appreciation, but it is very frustrating that they failed in engaging the community.
For vaccination, the authority should involve all people of the community to make the vaccination program successful.
Sources from the Health Ministry said, that the government has prepared the plan for vaccinating people with a target to give two doses of jabs to each of over 130 million people to eliminate the fatal virus.
As per the plan, a total of 138,247,000 people will be vaccinated in five stages.
Five million doses of Oxford- AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka on January 25.
Besides, on January 21, Bangladesh received two million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a gift from the Indian government.
On November 5 last year, the Bangladesh Government, SII, and Beximco had signed a tripartite agreement to import the vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
