All the preparations, including the arrangement of equipment and booths, have been taken across the country for carrying out the vaccination drive, Khurshid Alam said at a programme held at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine.

Meanwhile, he said, the training of health workers will conclude by Monday. A virtual meeting with the focal persons in upazilas will also be held on Monday.

Also read: Covid vaccine: PM Hasina hits back hard at critics

A total of 7,400 health teams have been working to implement the vaccination drive, he added.

On February 4, ‘Surokkha’ app will be available on the play store from where interested people will be able to get registered for the vaccination, the DG stated.

The registration process is already underway through the website. Some 15,000 people have got registered by the time, he said adding that DGHS volunteers would help those who would fail to get registered through online at the upazila level.

The Health Ministry rolled out the inoculation drive at five government hospitals in Dhaka on January 28, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

PM vaccination campaign

Also read:DGDA OKs use of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

On January 27, Prime Minister Sheikh launched the Covid-19 vaccination programme at Kurmitola General Hospital through a videoconference.

At the inaugural event, five people were vaccinated in the virtual presence of the Prime Minister. Runu Veronica Costa, a senior staff nurse at Kurmitola General Hospital, was the first to get the shot in the country.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said 70 lakh doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are currently available in Bangladesh.

"The [Oxford-AstraZeneca] vaccine is the safest in the world. The treatment facilities are there in case any side-effects of vaccination is seen," the minister said Wednesday.

Bangladesh first received two million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India as a gift and then imported five million more doses from the Serum Institute of India directly.

For getting a shot, people will have to register on www.surokkha.gov.bd.

Covid-19 in Bangladesh

The health authorities in Bangladesh recorded 16 more new coronavirus-related deaths and 369 new cases in the last 24 hours till 8 am on Sunday.

Also read:'Simple is beautiful': One-shot vaccine proves effective

The total number of deaths from the virus in the country now reached 8,127 while the mortality rate stands at 1.52 percent, the DGHS said in a handout.

Of the 16 new deceased, 14 are men, and two are women.

Besides, 369 new cases were detected during the same period, increasing the national tally to 535,139.

The daily detection rate fell to 3.02 percent while the current overall rate is 14.65 percent.

Until Sunday morning, 479,744 patients (89.65 percent) have recovered.

(Written by ST, Edied by SAM)