The makers of “Surakkha” – the application made for online registration of Covid-19 vaccine recipients – have said that they are all set to finish developing the app by January 25 by following all necessary testing.
The authorities concerned, however, are yet to decide on the launching date for this app – which will mark the beginning of Bangladesh’s vaccination efforts. But sources have suggested that it may be January 26.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday, ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam, said: “Testing of the app will be done within January 23.
“Then on January 25, we will hand over ‘Surakkha’ to the Health Ministry. It is the Covid-19 National Technical Advisory Committee (NATC) which will decide when the vaccine registration process will begin.”
“A decision regarding the launch of the app will be announced very soon,” Zeaul Alam, who is also a member of the NATC, added.
Earlier in the day, Zeaul Alam clarified in detail the process of registration regarding the use of the “Surakkha” app at a press conference held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka.
According to NATC’s plan, a selected group of people will be able to register themselves for the vaccine via the app at a time.
People can download the “Surakkha” app from the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. They can also use the link – www.surakkha.gov.bd – to complete the online registration for the Covid-19 vaccine.
While starting their registration through the “Surakkha” app or website, people will have to provide their names, addresses, NID card numbers, history of comorbidity diseases, Covid-19 test reports (if any), vaccine consent, among other information.
Once that is done, an OTP (one-time-password) will be provided to a vaccine candidate’s mobile number with which he/she will be able to finish the process of registration.
This database will be a unified one for both public and private vaccination efforts.
Meanwhile, if any vaccine candidate loses his/her vaccine registration card, that individual will be allowed to download it once again from the www.surakkha.gov.bd site, DGHS officials told the media recently.