After the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine finally arrived in Bangladesh, it appear that there are complications in the initial steps of administering the vaccine. The first step is to make a list of priority-based vaccine recipients. This has not been completed yet. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) instructed civil surgeons in each district to collect information about recipients. The offices of the civil surgeons of all the districts failed to perform the task. DGHS now has aborted this initiative and given the responsibility of collecting information about the recipients to the deputy commissioner (DC), city corporation or municipality mayor and upazila nirbahi officers (UNO).
The deputy commissioners have been made the chairmen of COVID-19 vaccine committees in every district. They will need the lists first after the vaccinating process begins. However, Prothom Alo correspondents found that DCs of many districts are yet to receive the letters from DGHS. The letters were sent in an emergency basis on 13 January, which was 9 days ago. One of the deputy commissioners said, the district administration has been working under direct instruction of prime minister’s office. He also said, they did not receive any instruction regarding recipient list yet. It seems that there is a lack of coordination in the work of the DGHS.
On the other hand, a software application (app) has been developed for the registration and the Ministry of Health and the Department of Information and Communication Technology have asked the people to register online with the app. People expressed their doubts about the effectiveness of the app already. Some say that given the socio-economic reality of Bangladesh, it is not possible for many people to register for vaccination using this app. We also believe that the app will not be effective for the uneducated and poor people in rural areas. However, the app may be effective for the majority of the 15 groups that the government has initially categorised as a priority for vaccination, as most of them are professionals. However, for that, it is necessary to ensure the improved quality of the app, so that it is possible for everyone to register easily on any digital device connected to the internet, including mobile phones. However, a limited number of people can be vaccinated in this way. The national identity card should be the main basis for the huge list that needs to be prepared to complete the work of vaccinating 170 million people in multiple phases.
Corona vaccination is a huge undertaking. The initial step is to make a list of recipients. When the vaccine arrived, we still hadn't complete the initial task which is unfortunate. Amid the situation, inoculation is going to start on 27 January. So we have to take immediate steps to speed up the listing process. At the same time, adequate trained manpower should be ensured for the vaccination. Vaccines must be stored carefully, transported and administered in an appropriate scientific manner.