People intending to be vaccinated have experienced immense difficulties in getting registered on the dedicated government website.
The procedural tangle of the online platform (www.surokkha.gov.bd) came to light a few hours after it was opened officially on Wednesday.
Individuals who have recently made unsuccessful attempts told this correspondent that they tried several times on the website providing required information but all went in vain.
Seeking anonymity, a physician at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said he decided to get the AstraZeneca shot as a frontliner on Wednesday, seeing interest by many of his peers.
"I have been trying unsuccessfully for the last two days. I don't know where the problem lies," he said.
Journalist Rafiqul Alam, who also faced the same difficulties to be registered for receiving the antidote, said he had typed the NID (national identity) number and date of birth into the website, but the system did not allow him to proceed further.
He said the system just replied 'Sorry... the registration process for the selected frontline Covid fighters and people above 55 years of age is in progress."
"What does it mean? Am I not a frontline fighter?" he asked.
A police official in Gulshan Zone, who wished not to be named, said he has not received OTP (one time password) yet from the system even after putting NID, date of birth into the platform for several attempts.
"I cannot complete the process, which is too complicated," he said having visibly frustrated.
When contacted, director general of the DGHS Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam said they received such complaints from some people and relevant persons are working on it.
DGHS director Dr Mizaanur Rahman said any initiative can face some problems at the initial stage, but this will be resolved very quickly.
"It might take a few days," he added.
Meanwhile, the first consignment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 doses started reaching various divisional and district headquarters for mass inoculation across the country on February 07.
Local drug company Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, which imported 5.0 million out of 30 million shots from India's Serum Institute, supplied the antidotes to the places in accordance with the list of DGHS.
From the district level, the health directorate will transport the doses to the upazila level vaccination centres on their own.
On February 07, some 5.0 million vaccines will be administered to 5.0 million people across Bangladesh in the first phase. The remaining batches of 25 million doses will be reaching the country in the next five months.
With AstraZeneca vaccines, around 15 million or 9.0 per cent of the population will be vaccinated.
