Migrant workers’ vaccine registration starts

The Covid-19 vaccine registration for migrant workers on a priority basis started on Monday.     

Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed inaugurated the registration through a virtual programme organised by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division. 

"Migrant workers heading abroad, especially to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, will get Pfizer vaccines at seven centres in the capital. The vaccination will be done based on lists of workers provided by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)," said the minister.

He said migrant workers will be able to register through Surokkha, the app designated for Covid-19 vaccine registration, from Monday. 

To be eligible for registering under the migrant workers category for vaccination, both old and new migrant workers have to be registered with BMET.

Those registered with BMET will be able to register for urgent vaccination through Surokkha App (www.surokkha.gov.bd).

Once the registration with Surokkha App is completed, the vaccination date and name of the centre will be informed through mobile text message.

The BMET started their registration process on 2 July.

"Around 20,000 migrant workers have already registered their names through BMET's 'Ami Probashi' app, said Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, secretary to the expatriate welfare ministry.

While registering through Surokkha, migrant workers have to choose one of seven designated centres in Dhaka if he/she wishes to be inoculated with Pfizer vaccine, he added.

The centres designated for Pfizer vaccine are: Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital, Mugda Medical College and Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Kurmitola General Hospital and Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital.                                 

Around 1,400 workers will get Pfizer vaccine per day in these centres, said Director General of Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul Bashar Mohammed Khurshid Alam.

He said only Saudi and Kuwait-bound workers will get Pfizer vaccine at this moment. However, migrants bound to other countries will be inoculated with other vaccines. 

Migrant workers who are not registered with BMET, or do not have a BMET smart card, or have BMET's smart card issued before 1 January, 2021, will be able to register with Surokkh App through a valid passport for vaccination. However, from January 2021, registered workers will not be required to re-register. Workers who have registered with BMET after 1 January, 2021, will not be required to re-register.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest job market for Bangladeshi migrant workers, in a travel advisory in May this year asked passengers from non-restricted countries like Bangladesh, to get vaccinated to avoid a seven-day institutional quarantine in the kingdom.                         

Manpower recruiting agencies in Bangladesh have been demanding that migrant workers be given the Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis to save money spent on hotel quarantine.

Currently, around 50,000 Saudi-bound workers are ready to go to work. The inoculation can save their huge amount of quarantine bill.