Staff Reporter :
The government is formulating a policy to facilitate Covid-19 vaccination at private facilities in the country.
“We will permit the bringing in and administering of the Covid-19 vaccine at private facilities. The government is preparing a policy in this regard and the price will also be fixed for doses,” said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday while speaking at a programme – Meet the Reporters – in Dhaka, organized by Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Asked whether the government and private vaccination in the same period would be similar, the minister said the administration of the vaccine would follow the policy strictly.
“There is no way to go beyond policy for both government and private organizations in order to avoid chaos in vaccination activities,” he added.
The minister said administering vaccines was a heavier task than that of bringing it.
42,000 health workers being trained
As part of this, the ministry was providing training to 42,000 health workers and volunteers as part of the Covid-19 vaccination program, Zahid Maleque said.
Besides, storage facilities had been increased while additional cold boxes and syringes had been purchased, he told journalists.
The minister said Serum Institute of India (SII) was expected to export its first lot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh by January 25-26.
Besides, the Indian government would send some Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh as a gift, which was expected to reach the country very soon, he said.
The quantity of the vaccines to be received from India was still unknown but it would be a large amount, he said.
“We will get it soon, maybe before receiving the first lot of vaccines from Serum Institute of India [SII].” Replying to a question over a possible adverse impact of the vaccine, Zahid Maleque said that the authorities were bringing in a vaccine that had very limited side effects and had not proven serious till now.
“Still, every vaccine has a side effect and knowing that, we are taking the vaccines of other diseases. People have to take the vaccine knowing that it might have side effects.
But as the vaccine would be provided at government facilities, medical assistance would be provided to persons experiencing side effects,” he added.
The minister explained the work the health authorities had done during the pandemic and said that the ministry would continue to develop its facilities.
Bangladesh was doing better than many other developed countries including the USA and the UK in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus, the minister noted.
