Staff Reporter :
Vaccination among school children against Covid-19 will start from Monday at eight centres in the capital.
Member-Secretary of the vaccine deployment panel, Health directorate (DGHS) Line Director Dr Md Shamsul Haque said it in a virtual bulletin on Sunday.
Officials said, Health Minister Zahid Maleque and Education Minister Dr. Dipu Moni will inaugurate vaccination campaign at Ideal School and College in Motijheel on Monday morning at 9:30am.
The centers of the eight institutes where the Covid-19 vaccines will be administered are Southpoint School and College, Hurdco International School, Chittagong Grammar School, Kakoli High School and College, Scholastica School in Mirpur, Southbreeze School and Mirpur Commerce School and College.
The authorities have set up 25 booths for each centre.
Pfizer vaccine will be administered to 200 students in every institute.
Dr. Shamsul Haque said that the eight institutes will be able to inoculate their own students and registered students of other schools.
The DGHS aims to inoculate 4,000 to 5,000 children every day, the official said.
As per the children vaccination plan, it will be expanded to 20 other districts after the successful completion of this initial campaign.
According to the official data, there are more than 10 million children aged 12-17 in the country. The government has a total of three million shots of Pfizer jab in stock right now as the health authorities decided to administer the Pfizer vaccines to children.
Earlier on October 14, the authorities conducted a trial by inoculating over 100 students at a Manikganj school.
School and college students in the country returned to classes on September 12 after a long closure of almost a year and half for the pandemic.
The government had closed all educational institutions on March 17, 2020, after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8.
