Covid-19 vaccination
Health rules to be maintained till 100 percent vaccination achieved: DGHS
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has said Covid-19 infection in the country is decreasing but health guidelines will be maintained till 100 percent of the population gets vaccinated.
DGHS spokesperson and Director (disease control) Dr Nazmul Islam said this Sunday during the regular health bulletin of the directorate on Covid infection situation in the country.
“Declining infection rate is a hopeful sign but there is no reason to feel complacency,” he said.
In the last seven days 126,840 samples have been tested for Covid-19 which is 12 percent lower than the previous seven days, he said.
Dr Nazmul said, the number of new infections has decreased 32 percent in the last seven days from the previous week, meanwhile the number of fatalities has decreased 21 percent.
Read: 50% of vaccination target can be met by December: Health Minister
In the last seven days daily infection rate mostly remained below 2 percent except on October 19 when 2.20 percent infection rate was reported, he added.
“Overall the infection rate is showing a downtrend for a month which is still continuing ," said the DGHS spokesperson.
Since January this year most of the infections were logged in July and August while the country saw 336,226 and 223,480 cases respectively, he said.
“Compared to that, just 11,506 cases reported so far in October is quite an improvement”, said the DGHS official.
Read: Prioritize senior people in vaccination, not children: Experts
Number of patients in Covid dedicated hospitals have declined and people are seeking telemedicine services less now, he said.
Replying to a question he said Bangladesh cannot be considered Covid-free yet as every day new patients are being detected.
In the last week of the current month or at the beginning of next month they will be able to inform the total number of school going students who have registered for Covid-19 vaccine, said the DGHS director.
Trial run for school vaccination to begin Thursday with 100 Manikganj students
At least 100 students of two government schools in Manikganj will get Covid jabs on Thursday as part of the government's decision to conduct a test run for Covid-19 vaccination for school students.
Confirming the information, Md. Lutfar Rahman, the Civil Surgeon of the district said that the Health Minister Zahid Malek will inaugurate the program at Manikganj Colonel Malek Medical College at 12 noon on Thursday.
“Fifty students of Manikganj Government Boys High School and 50 students of SK Government Girls High School will be vaccinated with Pfizer during this time,”he added.
Read: Vaccination campaign for school students to begin within a week: DGHS chief
They will be monitored after inoculation and from next week more students will be brought under the vaccination campaign.
The district has already received 27,000 Pfizer vaccines for school goers .
Earlier on Tuesday, DGHS chief ABM Khurshid Alam informed that a new campaign to vaccinate school students aged 12 and above will start within a week.
Read: WHO okays vaccination of those below 18 in Bangladesh: Health Minister
“The inoculation drive for school children between the ages of 12 and 17 will start this week,” said the DG of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) while talking to reporters following an event at the health department.
He said 21 centres have been selected at the district and city corporation levels across the country for this purpose.
“The Pfizer vaccine will be used for children,” he said, adding, “School authorities will provide us with the lists of their students. We’ll pass that onto the Surokkha app server afterwards.”
India will soon cross 100 cr mark in COVID-19 vaccination, says Mansukh Mandaviya
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that India will soon be administering over 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses in the coming days, adding that the achievement will be a pride for the country.
Mandaviya said, "So far we have administered over 95 crores doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 73 per cent of the beneficiaries who are above 18 years are vaccinated. Second Doses are also being administered rapidly”, reports ANI.
Also read:‘Mission 100 Days’ launched to curb Covid during festivals in India
"100 crore vaccines will be administered in the coming days, which will be an achievement for the country. It will be a matter of pride for us," he added.
The nationwide vaccination drive started in India on January 16 with the healthcare workers (HCWs) and the frontline workers getting inoculated in the first phase.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
Also read: Indian Govt allows export of Russian COVID vaccine Sputnik Light manufactured by Hetero Biopharma
The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1.
The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.
Hasina’s birthday celebrated amid mass vaccination campaign
The 75th birthday of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, now in the USA, was celebrated across the country amid a special mass vaccination on Tuesday.
Hasina, the eldest among the five children of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, was born at Tungipara in Gopalganj on September 28, 1947.
The ruling Awami League and its affiliated organisations celebrated the day by holding various programmes, highlighting her life and achievements.
Various programmes like discussions, doa and milad-mahfil, special prayers and photo exhibitions were organised in the capital and elsewhere across the country marking her birthday.
More importantly, a nationwide mass vaccination campaign was conducted on the day targeting to inoculate 80 lakh people on the occasion of Hasina's birthday.
As part of the AL central programmes, a discussion was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital in the morning.
At the function, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader said Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina was born for the cause of history, and now she herself is history.
Besides, doa and milad-mahfil were arranged at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and all other mosques throughout the country after Zahr prayers.
Read: PM Hasina’s 75th birthday to be celebrated Tuesday
PM orders speeding up vaccination of industrial workers, families
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday directed the authorities concerned to design a separate programme to bring the industrial workers and their families under the Covid-19 vaccination coverage soon.
She also asked to consider whether it would be possible to shorten the existing two-month gap between two vaccine doses.
Read:Bangladesh to receive over 6.34 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan Aug 28
The Prime Minister made the directives while chairing the Cabinet meeting held through a virtual platform, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam at a press briefing.
Sheikh Hasina joined the meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban and others from the Cabinet Room of the Secretariat.
“A special discussion was held over the industrial workers today (in the meeting)…. Since Bangladesh would get six crore doses of vaccine from Sinopharm as per an agreement signed by the Health Ministry, the Prime Minister gave the instruction to vaccinate the workers quickly bringing them under a separate programme,” said the Cabinet Secretary.
Besides, the PM said that she would herself oversee the matter.
“The Prime Minister has given instruction to vaccinate not only the workers but also their family members as forerunners,” said Anwarul Islam.
Read:1st phase of vaccination drive for Rohingyas ends in Cox's Bazar
Vaccination: UNHCR lauds Bangladesh for inclusion of Rohingyas
UNHCR has welcomed the commencement of the vaccination of Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar in line with national authorities’ broader public health efforts.
"We are grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for having included Rohingya refugees in the vaccination campaign," said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR’s Representative in Bangladesh, on Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said equitable inclusion of Rohingyas in allocation of vaccines is critical to curbing the spread of the ongoing pandemic.
"The Rohingya refugee and host community volunteers have an essential frontline role in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the camps. The first step in fully protecting communities; however, is through the rollout of vaccination," UNHCR’s Representative in Bangladesh emphasized.
On Tuesday, over 4,000 Rohingyas received their first COVID-19 vaccine, as part of a national vaccination drive to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Read: Covid kills 237 more in Bangladesh as Delta strain takes hold
Rohingyas eligible for vaccination in the first cohort include some 48,000 individuals over 55 years of age. The drive will continue until August 17.
The vaccination drive for Rohingyas is being led by the Bangladesh authorities with technical support from the UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and other humanitarian partners.
The fight against the pandemic has been led by thousands of refugee and host community volunteers, who have worked since 2020 on informing refugees about health and hygiene, monitoring any signs of illness, and connecting the refugee community with critical health services.
While the threat of COVID-19 remains critical, their efforts have helped to prevent and curb outbreaks and have saved lives, said the UN agency.
The vaccinations follow the devastating monsoon rains that hit Cox’s Bazar District over the past weeks, causing flash floods and landslides which killed eight Rohingya refugees and 15 Bangladeshis in the host communities.
Read: Vaccination drive in Bangladesh: Procurement of 60 mln Sinopharm doses gets nod
Almost 25,000 refugees were displaced due to landslides, flooding, wind and storms.
Thousands of facilities have been damaged including primary health clinics, distribution points and latrines.
Access was hindered due to damage to roads, pathways and bridges.
UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams, and partners, refugee and host community volunteers were deployed to assess the damage, to provide support to families forced to relocate, to begin immediate repairs of shelters and other site improvements and to ensure access to essential services for all.
While the weather has improved over the last few days, the monsoon season will continue for another couple of months followed by the cyclone season.
Vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs in Bangladesh to resume within days
Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca shots within the next few days, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“We’ll resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs within the next 2-1 days. Those who failed to take the second dose after getting the first one will be able to get it now,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after receiving the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan.
He said the government currently has a stock of more than 10 lakh doses of Astrazeneca vaccine.
Read: Covid kills 218 more in Bangladesh as its catastrophe continues
“We’ll get 6 lakh doses more of the vaccine on Aug 3,” Zahid added.
Kushtia man ends up 'fully vaccinated' in ten minutes
A man received two consecutive jabs of Covid vaccine in Khoksa Upazila Health Complex in Kushtia just within 10 minutes Thursday.
Basharuzzaman, 38, resident of Bujruk Mirzapur village went to the designated room of the health complex at noon with his vaccination card to receive the first jab of the Covid vaccine.
After receiving the first jab he mistakenly entered the room again and the nurse on duty gave him another shot of the vaccine.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh lowers vaccination age to 25
Later when he asked the nurse if he was supposed to receive back-to-back two shots of the vaccine like that, the matter got the attention of everyone present there.
Currently all the Covid-19 vaccines being distributed in Bangladesh are all two-shot vaccines. Timeline for receiving the second dose after the first one is between 3-6 weeks.
Vaccine recipient Basaruzzaman said he didn’t know the system and stood again in line after receiving the first shot.
Upazila Health officer Dr Md Kamruzzaman said it’s Basaruzzaman’s mistake as he didn’t inform the nurse about having received the shot once already.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Daily toll remains above 200; 15,271 more infected
However, It should not cause any health issues in him, the doctor said.
Meanwhile Civil Surgeon of the district Dr HM Anwarul Islam said there is no scope for the authority to deny their negligence in this incident, as many illiterate general villagers may come to receive vaccines in the centers.
The involved officials have already been warned to not repeat such mistakes, he said.
Bangladesh to resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs soon
Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs soon, said DGHS spokesperson Prof Dr Nazmul Islam on Wednesday.
“We had to stop giving Astrazeneca vaccine to people halfway through due to its short supply. But we’re hopeful of resuming its rollout soon as we’ve received a supply from Japan,” he said during the regular briefing of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
"We’ll get more AstraZeneca supplies within a few days. The wait of those who’re worried about the second dose will hopefully end soon,” he added.
Read: Vaccination at union level to start on Aug 7: Home Minster
Responding to a question on why the vaccination drive with Astrazeneca has not resumed yet, the spokesperson said,” We’re waiting for the arrival of further supplies.”
Bangladesh received the first consignment of 2,45,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan on July 24.
Read: Age limit to be lowered to 18 for Covid vaccination: Health DG
The vaccine doses came under the COVAX facility.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito earlier said Japan would provide a total of 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh.
Age limit to be lowered to 18 for Covid vaccination: Health DG
The government is going to lower the minimum age limit for Covid vaccination to 18 from 30 years as per a directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a bid to bring more people under the coverage of the mass vaccination programme.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given an instruction in this regard this (Friday) morning. We’ll implement it at the earliest possible time after discussions with the Health Minister,” said Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
He made the remarks while talking to reporters after visiting Covid-dedicated Mugda General Hospital in the capital on Friday.
The DGHS DG said the government is also thinking of expanding the vaccination programme to the village level. “The government is planning whether the corona vaccines can be given to rural people in the same way they receive other vaccines.”
Read: Dhaka to receive 2.45 lakh AstraZeneca jabs from Tokyo Saturday
“If this decision is implemented, then people will be able to get the vaccine doses by showing the national identity cards and the vaccination cards, and then there’ll be no need for registration,” he added.
On July 18, the government decided to lower the age limit to 30 years from 35 for Covid vaccination.
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.
On April 25, the government had to suspend the first dose of the vaccine campaign due to a shortage of jabs. However, the vaccination drive resumed this month with the arrival of Sinopharm, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
Replying to a question, Prof Khurshid said the government has preparations to deal with the pressure of the growing number of Covid patients.
Read: India working to resume vaccine export to Bangladesh, reiterates Doraiswami
He said field hospitals can be set up in different districts to ensure the treatment of virus-infected people.
The DG said the outcome of the 14-day strict lockdown enforced by the government today (Friday) will be visible a few days later.
He, however, said the virus infections have comparatively decreased now in the frontier areas.
Prof Khurshid said they are taking steps for exporting oxygen from India as the country’s current oxygen demand is 200 tonnes per day.