Covid Inoculation: Special drive for 2nd shots from Sept 7
The government will replicate the first special mass vaccination drive all over the country to administering the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from September 7, said Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the health directorate, yesterday.
"Those who have received their first dose during the special campaign will receive their second jabs from the same centres on the same days as the previous campaign" Prof Khurshid Alam told The Daily Star last evening.
He, however, said they will conduct the second drive once they have enough supply and stocks of vaccines.
The decision was made at a meeting yesterday afternoon.
The government conducted a six-day special mass vaccination programme at the union-ward level since August 8 after receiving the vaccines from China's Sinopharm.
Around 14,000 temporary vaccination centres were set up across the country to administer the first dose. Those who did not register online got vaccinated through on-spot registration.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), around 55 lakh people received their first dose during the campaign.
During the first special mass vaccination programme, there was an overwhelming response of the people and many had to go back without getting vaccinated due to a shortage of supply.
While, in many cases, there were allegations of mismanagement.
Against this backdrop, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday had said that mass vaccination activities like a six-day special programme would no longer take place. Rather, the regular campaign will continue in accordance with the vaccine stock.
Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, however, yesterday said, "We have a plan to hold a similar special vaccination drive once we will have enough vaccine stocks. To run a special campaign, we need at least one crore doses."
In yesterday's meeting, there was also a decision to vaccinate the family members, aged 18 and above, of frontliners, he said.
Under the criteria, only sons, daughters, domestic helpers and drivers of frontliners will be vaccinated.
"We had announced it last month, but we had no definition. Now we will accept official lists from the organisations where the frontliners are working. The registration will be open for them once we will receive the list."
300 VENTILATORS DISTRIBUTED
Meanwhile, the DGHS yesterday distributed 300 ventilators, gifted by Bangladeshi expatriates living in USA and Canada, to different hospitals.
For this, it organised an event at Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) in Dhaka. Prof ABM Khurshid Alam chaired the event.
Prof ABM Abdullah, personal physician of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said they have so far received 562 portable ICU ventilators from the USA, donated by the immigrant Bangladeshis and several non-government organisations there.
He said they were in the middle of negotiations to get more medical devices. "Those will include ventilators and others."
Four physicians living in the United States, including nephrologist Prof Ziauddin Ahmed Sadeq, cardiologists Prof Masudul Hasan and Chowdhury Hafiz Ahsan, and former senior UN official Mahmud Us Shams Chowdhury, and Bangladeshi-Canadian physicist Dr Arifur Rahman coordinated the efforts to send the ventilators to Bangladesh.
DAILY COVID UPDATE
The country recorded 114 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, according to a press release from the DGHS. This was the lowest number deaths since June 30.
On June 29, the number was 112.
Meanwhile, 5,249 people tested positive for the virus in the same period of time.
With the latest count, the total number of Covid-19 deaths rose to 25,513 and the total cases to 14,72,964. Against 34,708 tests yesterday, the positivity rate was 15.12 percent.
Of yesterdays dead, 56 were male and 58 female.
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