Staff Reporter :
The government is likely get four crores of Covid-19 vaccines by July this year, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“As per our age limit of Covid inoculation, we have to administer the jabs upon four crores of the people,” the Health Minister said while discussing with journalists after a meeting in his office in the secretariat on Wednesday.
He said, “We will have four crores of vaccines by July including the vaccines in our stocks and we have ordered for purchasing and the Covax, scheduled to be donated to us,” Zahid Maleque said.
He said those four crore dose of jabs will be reaching the country in different months.
Bangladesh has fixed age limit 40 years for inoculation while neighboring India stipulated 60 years for this.
He said that proposals have been made from different quarters about reducing age limit for inoculation. We are working with it, he added.
“If we can collect enough vaccines from different sources, then we will reduce the age limit for mass vaccination. Then we may be able to administer jabs to the college and school students,” the Health Minister said.
Besides, the government officials, port employees and foreign citizens would be vaccinated.
Foreign citizens staying in the country would also be inoculated upon the Foreign Ministry lists.
Zahid Maleque said, government plans to collect vaccines from other sources beyond India’s Serum company to increase the collection.
He said government planned to take second shots jabs in stock.
“We have vaccinated about 30 lakhs people so far and more about 45 lakhs have registered to get the jabs. We are trying to purchase more vaccines from other institutes who will get approval from the World Health Organisation,” the health minister said.
The Minister stated that different organistions want
to give Bangladesh 350 crore Dollars to purchase vaccines, but he government is scrutinizing its necessity on this regards.
He said that the government planned a meeting about vaccination plan within 15 days regularly.
