Vaccine
No movement without vaccine will be allowed after Aug. 11: Minister
Taking Covid jabs has been made mandatory for public movement from Aug. 11, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said on Tuesday urging people to get vaccinated to avoid punishment.
The minister said this while talking to reporters about the government decision of extending the ongoing lockdown till August 10.
He said, “It has been made mandatory to take Covid jabs for public movement from August 11.
Read: BMRC clears Indian Covaxin’s clinical trials in Bangladesh
Any movement without being vaccinated would be considered a punishable offense.”
As per the government decision of reopening workplaces, local shops, factories and retail outlets along with public transports from August 11, people who didn’t get Covid jabs yet were instructed to get vaccinated within the remaining days of extended lockdown.
Read: Vaccine coproduction deal with Sinopharm ready for signing: FM
The government is set to launch a nationwide mass vaccination drive from 14,000 vaccine centres from August 7 aimed at giving shots to one crore people in one week. Once vaccinated, the certificate will be available to download on the website and it will work as the movement pass for people, he said.
The minister warned further that anyone over the age of 18 without a vaccine found on the street after the lockdown ends will face punishment.
Pentagon grappling with new vaccine orders; timing uncertain
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is vowing he “won’t let grass grow under our feet” as the department begins to implement the new vaccine and testing directives. But Pentagon officials on Friday were scrambling to figure out how to enact and enforce the changes across the vast military population and determine which National Guard and Reserve troops would be affected by the orders.
The Pentagon now has two separate missions involving President Joe Biden’s announcement Thursday aimed at increasing COVID-19 vaccines in the federal workforce. The Defense Department must develop plans to make the vaccine mandatory for the military, and set up new requirements for federal workers who will have to either attest to a COVID-19 vaccination or face frequent testing and travel restrictions.
Austin said the department will move expeditiously, but added that he can’t predict how long it will take. He said he plans to consult with medical professionals as well as the military service leaders.
Any plan to make the vaccine mandatory will require a waiver signed by Biden, because the Food and Drug Administration has not yet given the vaccine final, formal approval. According to federal law, the requirement to offer individuals a choice of accepting or rejecting use of an emergency use vaccine may only be waived by the president, “only if the president determines in writing that complying with such requirement is not in the interests of national security.”
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Mandating the vaccine prior to FDA approval will likely trigger opposition from vaccine opponents, and drag the military into political debates over what has become a highly divisive issue in America.
Military commanders, however, have also struggled to separate vaccinated recruits from those not vaccinated during early portions of basic training across the services in order to prevent infections. So, for some, a mandate could make training and housing less complicated.
Military service members are already required to get as many as 17 different vaccines, depending on where they are based around the world. Some of the vaccines are specific to certain regions. Military officials have said the pace of vaccines has been growing across the force, with some units seeing nearly 100 percent of their members get shots.
According to the Pentagon, more than 1 million service members are fully vaccinated, and another 233,000 have gotten at least one shot. There are roughly 2 million active duty, Guard and Reserve troops.
A vaccine mandate will also raise questions about whether the military services will discharge troops who refuse the vaccine.
National Guard officials said initial guidance suggests that Guard troops who initially refuse the vaccine once its mandatory will receive counseling from medical personnel. If they still refuse they would be ordered to take it, and failure to follow that order could result in adminitrative or punitive action.
On Friday, Guard officials said leaders were still nailing down legal recommendations on which citizen soldiers would be affected by the new requirements and who would not. Officials said it appears the bulk of the Guard would eventually have to get the vaccine, when it is mandated.
Guard troops on federal active duty would be given the vaccine in their units wherever they are deployed, and others would get it when they report to their monthly drill weekend or annual training. The system, according to Guard officials, would resemble any other vaccine requirement.
Guard members who are on state active duty would not be subject to the requirement initially because they are subject to state laws. But once they return to a monthly drill, the order would apply to them. Guard officials spoke about the new vaccine process on condition of anonymity because procedures are still being finalized.
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While the number of COVID-19 deaths across the military has remained small —- largely attributed to the age and health of the force — cases of the virus have been increasing.
As of this week, there have been more than 208,600 cases of COVID-19 among members of the U.S. military. Of those, more than 1,800 have been hospitalized and 28 have died.
Earlier this year, the number of cases and hospitalizations had been growing by relatively small, consistent amounts, and the number of deaths had stalled at 26 for more than two and a half months. In recent weeks the totals spiked. The number of cases increased by more than 3,000 in the last week alone, and those hospitalized grew by 36. Two Navy sailors also died in the last week.
Bangladesh receives 10 lakh Sinopharm vaccine jabs
Bangladesh on Thursday night received 10 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine as part of commercial purchase from China while 20 lakh more are scheduled to arrive by early Friday.
An aircraft of Bangladesh Biman Airlines landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport carrying 10 lakh doses of Sinopharma vaccine from China around 10:30pm, Dr Shahriar Sazzad, in-charge of the airport health centre, told UNB.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh lowers vaccination age to 25
Thirty lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China are supposed to reach Bangladesh on Thursday night and early Friday, sources at the health ministry said.
The vaccine consignments were scheduled to arrive at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in three flights at 10pm, 1am and 3 am, the sources added.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Daily toll remains above 200; 15,271 more infected
Earlier, Bangladesh received 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine jabs on July 17 and July 18.
The vaccine doses were provided as part of a commercial agreement with China.
30 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine to reach Dhaka Thursday night, Friday
Thirty lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China will reach Bangladesh on Thursday night and early Friday, health ministry sources said.
The consignment of vaccines will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in three flights at 10pm, 1am and 3 am, added the sources.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh lowers vaccination age to 25
Earlier, some 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in two aircrafts on July 17 and early July 18.
The vaccines were provided as part of a commercial agreement with China.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Daily toll remains above 200; 15,271 more infected
Bangladesh seeks US partnership in vaccine production
PM’s Adviser for Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman has sought the assistance from the US government to encourage their vaccine-producing companies to partner with capable pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh.
Recalling the two countries’ close cooperation in combating Covid-19 since the early days of the pandemic, Adviser Rahman stressed scaling up of the global production of the Covid-19 vaccines and other pandemic management equipment to tackle the virus.
He also stated that Bangladesh is ready to make necessary investments for the capacity enhancement of pharmaceutical companies for such partnerships.
Adviser Rahman and Senior Official for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment of the US Department of State Ambassador Marcia Bernicat discussed ways to have stronger collaboration on Covid-19 front.
Bangladesh and the US have expressed willingness to work more closely to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, including partnership, in vaccine production.
Read: Countries like Bangladesh need support for vaccine production: FM
Govt to vaccinate Rohingyas gradually starting with above-55s: Foreign Secretary
The government has decided to vaccinate the Rohingyas as part of an inclusive vaccination programme.
Although no start date was offered, a preliminary decision was announced that in the first phase, those who are above 55 years old will be considered.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, while talking to reporters on Tuesday, said the host communities around the Rohingya camps have frequent communication with the Rohingyas and the government wants to keep both protected.
READ: Covid-19: Govt to vaccinate 25 lakh people each month
He said the age bar will be brought down gradually in line with the supply of the vaccines in Bangladesh from different sources.
The Foreign Secretary said there will be no discrimination in terms of vaccination considering the “practicality" - the fact that no one is protected unless everyone is protected from a contagion.
Earlier, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, sought stronger global support for refugee vaccinations in Asia, including Rohingyas who are living in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
The vaccination of refugees was scheduled to start by the end of March 2021. However, the date had to be postponed as the arrival of the COVAX vaccines was delayed.
Responding to a question on air-bubble with India, the Foreign Secretary said they are in discussion and a proposal regarding resumption of this special arrangement is in place.
READ: All adults to be gradually vaccinated: Health Minister
He hoped that the air-bubble arrangement would be resumed at a mutually convenient time in August on a limited scale as the situation in India is improving.
Vaccination at union level to start on Aug 7: Home Minster
The Covid-19 vaccination programme at union level will start across the country on August 7, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday.
The minister announced the government's decision while talking to reporters after a meeting held at the conference room of the Cabinet division.
“The prime minister has ordered speeding up the vaccination drive. One can get vaccinated at the union level showing his or her NID card. Vaccination centres will be set up in unions across the country before August 7,” he said.
Also read:Covid fatality rate 90% among elderly villagers, says health minister
Those who do not have any NID will be vaccinated under a special arrangement, he added.
Bangladesh to get 21 crore vaccine doses early next year: Minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said the government will receive around 21 crore doses of Covid vaccines early next year to bring the country’s 80 percent population under the vaccination coverage.
“Now Bangladesh's most important task is to collect vaccines. The government has now over one crore doses of vaccines in its stock, while it’ll get two more crore doses by next month,” he said.
Speaking at a virtual discussion arranged by Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA), the minister said, “The government will receive about 21 crore doses of vaccines, including three crore doses from China, seven crore each from Russia and Johnson & Johnson, and three crore from AstraZeneca early next year. We hope the government will be able to vaccinate at least 80 percent of the country’s population with these vaccine jabs.”
He said all the citizens above 18 years of age will be vaccinated from now on to keep the country's educational institutions functional and bring most citizens under the mass vaccination drive.
Read: Bangladesh to go for Covid vaccine coproduction soon: FM
The minister said they have already asked the ICT Division to take steps so that people above 18 years of age can register for vaccination through the government-approved "Surokkha" app.
Over four percent of the country's population has so far been vaccinated since the government launched the mass vaccination programme on February 7 last by administering Covishield.
Khaleda recovers from vaccine side effects
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has recovered from fever and body pain that she experienced as side effects after taking the first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
“Madam (Khaleda) was affected with light fever and body pain as the side effects of the first dose of the Covid vaccine. But her fever and pain have already subsided,” the BNP chief’s personal physician, Dr Al Mamun, told UNB on Friday.
He, however, said Khaleda is still suffering from heart, lung, and some other complications.
The 76-year-old BNP chief, who recovered from Covid-19 over two months back, has now been receiving medical treatment at her Gulshan house for those complications.
Read: Khaleda takes 1st dose of Covid vaccine
On Monday, Khaleda received the first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital in the city’s Mohakhali area.
She is scheduled to get the second dose of the vaccine on August 19.
On April 11, she tested positive for Covid-19 and she was admitted to Evercare Hospital on April 27.
The BNP chief tested negative for Covid-19 on May 8, 27 days after she had been infected with the deadly virus.
Read: Khaleda receives vaccination SMS: Dr Zahid
On June 19, Khaleda Zia got back home from the hospital after 53 days of treatment for Covid infections and other physical complications.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
Prof Yunus renews call for ensuring vaccine equality breaking profit wall
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has reiterated call for ensuring vaccine equality around the world noting that all the people need to be safe breaking the wall of profit.
“We’re talking much to make the vaccine patent-free. We’re working to get the patent out of the vaccine because the vaccine is a wall of profit and the wall of profit makes it tough for people to get the vaccine,” said Prof Yunus.
He made the remarks when asked about what he expects from the international community to ensure vaccines for all in a recent media briefing mentioning that they have been working for more than a year to ensure vaccine equality around the world.
Prof Yunus is all set to receive the Olympic Laurel as only the second person in history when the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics takes place on Friday.
“Bangladesh will be so proud of this award because Bangladesh is a country that doesn’t get close to an Olympic medal. But they have a cause for a celebration now. The whole world will watch a Bangladeshi receiving an Olympic award which will make every single person of Bangladesh proud of it. I believe it’ll be something that Bangladesh will remember for long,” said Prof Yunus during a virtual press meet.
Read: Patent-free Covid-19 vaccines: Yunus’ petition gets 1 million signatures