Uncertainty looms over vaccine drives

Uncertainty looms large over the expanded programme on immunisation (EPI) under the health directorate and possibly Covid-19 vaccination as around 26,000 field-level health assistants are on strike since November 26 demanding better pay.

Representatives of Bangladesh Health Assistant Association (BHAA) said they would continue their demonstration until the authorities assure them of an amicable solution to their demand for pay-scale upgrade.

Due to the BHAA's strike, the measles-rubella vaccination campaign for children scheduled for December 6 had to be pushed to December 12.

Besides, routine vaccinations for at least 10 diseases, including TB, polio and diphtheria, have remained suspended across the country due to the strike. The upcoming Covid-19 vaccination could be hampered if things stay as they are, sources said.

Meanwhile, the health directorate on December 3 issued a circular warning that action would be taken under the Government Employee Act 2018 if any staffer attempted to hamper the measles-rubella vaccination.

A health staffer at Pirgachha Upazila Health Complex of Rangpur told The Daily Star that health assistants assaulted an employee trying to carry vaccines to a centre yesterday.

Source said there are 1.2 lakh EPI vaccination centres across the country. The centres are manned by 26,000 health assistants. The government holds vaccination programmes once a month in each of the centres.

"We will go and talk to the honourable director general of the health director on Thursday [tomorrow]. We will decide our future programmes after the meeting," Sheikh Rabiul Alam, convener of the BHAA, told this correspondent yesterday.

He said, "We have been informed that the health ministry has not responded positively to the health directorate proposal on our demands. It should be considered that Bangladesh received four international recognitions for successes in vaccination, including the latest 'Vaccine Hero' title of honourable prime minister. We, the health assistants, are the contributors behind these achievements."

There are three types of staffers under the EPI programme of the directorate general of the health services (DGHS). They are: health inspector, assistant health inspector, and health assistants.

Under the pay scale, the health assistant post is 16th grade and they are demanding that EPI staffers' pay scales be upgraded to 11th, 12th and 13th grades respectively.

Rabiul said the prime minister had made promises to them in a conference on December 6, 1998. "We were assured several times that our demand will be met," he said.

He said they might withdraw their strike during the measles-rubella vaccination campaign.

"Hopefully we will get a positive response from the honourable director general on Thursday," he added.

Shamsul Haque Mridha, director of EPI at the DGHS, told this paper last night, "The problem is there are multiple factions among them. We, however, held a daylong discussion today [yesterday] with them. We agreed to their demand. We have placed a proposal to the health ministry, which has assured us of considering the matter. We hope the issue will be resolved this time."

32 DEAD; 2,202 INFECTED

Thirty-two more people died from Covid-19 and 2,202 new infections were recorded in the 24 hours ending at 8:00am yesterday, according to a press release of the DGHS.

With this, the total number of deaths reached 6,906, which is 1.43 percent of all confirmed cases in the country.

The total number of confirmed cases rose to 4,81,945.

Against 17,084 tests, the positivity rate was 12.89 percent while the overall positivity rate was 16.65 percent.

Meanwhile, 2,571 Covid-19 patients recovered in the same 24 hours, raising the number of recoveries to 4,01,194.

The recovery rate is now 83.24 percent.

Among the 32 deceased, 25 were males and seven females.

One was aged between 21 and 30, three were aged between 41 and 50, six between 51 and 60, and 22 were above 60 years, added the release.