Kids aged 5-11 may get jabs next month

The first consignment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines developed especially for children has reached the country yesterday, and inoculation of those aged five to 11 might begin next month.

The country has received over 15 lakh doses of the vaccine in this regard, Dr Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the Covid-19 vaccine management taskforce, told journalists.

"We have already had a series of meetings with the education ministry officials. The vaccine campaign may begin next month. The dates and times will be announced soon."

Initially, 2.2 crore children in this age group will be vaccinated, he said.

Health officials said different schools across the country will host vaccination centres during the campaign.

A Directorate General of Health Services release said 1.61 crore children have received both doses of the vaccine during the previous campaign for those aged 12-17.

The launch of the latest campaign became urgent after a surge in Covid-19 infections, mainly due to the Omicron variant, over the past couple of months.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, on April 30, had announced the plan to inoculate children between five and 11 years. 

Over two dozen countries, including Brazil, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, started inoculating children of this age group last year, according to global media reports.

With the rising number of Covid-19 cases since early June, marking the fourth wave of the pandemic, the government has also stressed the need for the booster dose vaccine campaign.