UNB :
Bangladesh launched yet another nationwide mass vaccination drive on Tuesday, aiming to inoculate 75 lakh people in a day to mark Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.
“In the first two hours, women above 50 years and disabled people will get the jabs on priority basis,” Health Minister Zahid Maleque told reporters on Sunday.
The Covid jabs will be administered from 9am at 6,000 vaccine centres across the country, he said in the morning.
Those who had earlier registered for getting the vaccine but did not get it timely will also be given priority during this campaign, the minister said.
In Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area, the special vaccination drive began around 2.30 pm, said Mohamamd Azam, Chief Executive Officer of Zone-2. “But the regular process to administer the jabs has been underway since morning.”
However, people living in the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) area have been receiving the Covid jabs since morning, as per the scheduled programme.
There was little crowd at the DSCC vaccination booths during the daylong drive to administer the first doses of Covid vaccine.
As part of the special vaccination programme,the vaccine jabs were administered in 75 centers of 75 wards of the DSCC.
Some 350 people were scheduled to be vaccinated in each centre while the DSCC has set a target of 52,500 doses of the vaccine alone, officials said.
They said the second dose of the vaccine will be given on October 28.
Visiting the vaccination centres of different wards, the UNB correspondent found little crowds there.
Anik, a resident of Ward 65 of the DSCC, told UNB that it was hassle-free to take vaccine jabs as there was no crowd like the previous mass vaccination.
“Many people were, in fact, unaware of the special vaccination programme of the government. This special programme helped me take the vaccine as I didn’t get SMS when I got registered two months ago,” he said.
Anikl said most people were seen taking the vaccination jabs as they missed or avoided the previous programme due to overcrowding.
On Monday, Director General of Health Services Dr ABM Khurshid Alam said eligible potential recipients of the jabs would be informed through SMS. “People have to carry their NID and vaccine cards to the jab centres.”
“Tomorrow, the country will celebrate the 75th birthday of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and we have taken the nationwide mass inoculation programme marking the day. Only the first dose will be given under the programme and the receivers will get their second dose next month on the same day,” Khurshid told reporters on Monday.
“There’ll be one booth in each union and municipality areas across the country while the vaccine will be given from three booths in each wards of the city corporation area.”
Vaccine doses will be given at 75 centres of the DSC and 350 people will get the jab from each centre, according to a media release. The second dose will be given on October 28.
Bangladesh on August 7 kicked off its mass vaccination drive to inoculate some 35 lakh people in six days.
