Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh will get coronavirus vaccine by next February, Health Secretary Abdul Mannan said it on Tuesday in a programme in the capital.
“We will get covid-19 vaccine very soon, even it may be by the February,” said health Secretary while addressing a programme on World HIV/Aids day in city’s Shilpakala Academy Auditorium.
He said before getting the vaccine, the only way to keep us safe is wearing facemask always whenever we stay out of home.
The health secretary said that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) recent studies showed that if any one could wear a protected facemask, he can be safe more than 95 percent than others.
“So that from children to adults everyone should wear facemask and should follow other health safety rules like maintaining social distancing, washing hands repeatedly,” the secretary said.
On the other hand experts have differed to the health secretary’s statement also saying that vaccine would not be available before December 2021.
When the health secretary expressed his optimism over getting covid-19 vaccine by February 2021, the other experts said that such vaccine is unlikely to be approved by WHO before December next year.
“Without getting approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO), no vaccine can be used and marketed. WHO has not approved any vaccine till now,” Professor Dr. Muzaherul Huq, former Adviser of WHO told The New Nation on Sunday.
He said all the data showed that before December 2021 no covid-19 vaccine will be available in the markets.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam on Monday said that the government has decided to offer first three crore covid-19 vaccines free to the frontliners.
He said as per WHO guidelines the frontliners means the police and other administrative officials who are working in field levels.
