Country on way of fully vaccinated
29 January 2023
Reza Mahmud :
The country is on the way of getting fully vaccinated of Covid-19 jab as more than 15 crore among the 18 crore people are inoculated so far.
Meanwhile, inoculation of the second dose and third booster shot are ongoing among the eligible people across the country.
Public health experts have appreciated the pace of Covid-19 vaccination saying the current status of inoculation has created a safe atmosphere. They said that fully vaccinated people means the country is safe from spreading of even the new variant of the virus.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of World Health Organisation (WHO) told The New Nation on Saturday, "The current status of vaccination against the pandemic is satifactory. But the second dose needs to be given to all who got the first jab."
"Otherwise a good number of people of Bangladesh will remain vulnerable to infection. Regarding the third dose, more people are encouraged and pursued to get the shot."
A booster dose more or less ensures that it either prevents re-infection or any future infection while chances of severity and chances of death remains less in cases of co-infected cases and old age patients, the expert said.
Data of the Dircetorate General of Health Services (DGHS) showed that the country has so far successfully given the first dose of vaccine to 15 crore 03 lakh 16 thousand 546 people.
Among them, 11 crore 39 lakh 33 thousand 416 people were registered vaccine recipients and 3 crore 63 lakh 86 thousand 946 people took vaccines under special campaigns without registration.
Besides, 13 crore, 43 lakh, 11 thousand 665 people have been fully vaccinated with the second dose since the beginning of the mass vaccination drive. Moreover,
6 crore 60 lakh 4 thousand 324 people took the third dose and 07 lakh 85 thousand 642 people took the fourth dose.
Among the children aged 12 to 17 years, 1 crore 74 lakh 9 thousand 283 received the first dose of vaccine, and 1 crore 62 lakh 34 thousand 500 took the second dose.
Besides, among children aged five to 11 years, 1 crore 88 lakh 69 thousand 948 received the first dose of vaccine, 85 lakh 14 thousand 9 took the second dose.
Moreover, 1 crore 59 lakh 94 thousand 906 people did not take the second dose after taking the first dose of vaccine and 6 crore 83 lakh 7 thousand 341 people did not take the third dose after taking the second dose, according to the latest statistics given on the website of the Department of Health on Wednesday.
On January 27, 2021, the government began the vaccination drive against coronavirus on experimental basis.
Runu Veronica Costa, a senior nurse of Kurmitola General Hospital, received the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the vaccination programme.
Four other government employees also received Covid-19 vaccine at the inaugural programme.
The other recipients were -- Dr Ahmed Lutful Moben, a doctor of KGH; Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the health directorate; Md Didarul Alam, a traffic police of Motijheel Zone; and Brigadier General M Imran Hamid of Bangladesh Army.
Then mass vaccination started on February 8 of the same year. Dr. S S Abdullah Al Murad, manager of the Expanded Immunization Program (EPI) said that the country has so far received 35 crore 94 lakh 79 thousand 750 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
Of them, 5 crore 61 lakh 71 thousand 110 AstraZeneca vaccine doses, 7 crore 91 lakh 43 thousand 390 Pfizer (ready to use) doses, 3 crore 30 lakh 50 thousand Pfizer special doses (children), 1 crore 57 lakh 92 thousand 460 Moderna doses, 11 crore 41 lakh 78 thousand Sinopharm doses, 6 crore 4 lakh 65 thousand 40 Sinovac doses and 6 lakh 79 thousand 750 J&J doses.
As of January 25, Bangladesh has 90 lakh 62 thousand 359 doses of vaccine (Sinopharm, Pfizer and Pfizer children's) in stock.
