All five- to 11-yr-olds to get Covid shots

All children aged five to 11 will get Covid-19 vaccines during the upcoming inoculation campaign set to start on August 25, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.

"There are around 2.20 crore children aged 5-11 years. Each of them will receive the vaccine no matter where they are in the country," he told reporters at an event marking the National Mourning Day at the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital in the capital.

On August 11, 16 schoolchildren received the Pfizer vaccine for the age range as a trial in Dhaka.

Health officials said the mass inoculation campaign will start on August 25, initially in 12 city corporations, and then expanded countrywide as per the availability of vaccines.

So far, the government has a stock of 30 lakh Pfizer vaccines for the campaign. This stock will increase to one crore by the end of this month, according to health officials.

The minister said a child has to be registered to get the vaccine. "[Only] those who have registered will get vaccines … the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has been working on it."

He however did not mention how out-of-school children would register for the vaccine.

During a previous drive to vaccinate children aged 12-17 years, children living on streets were vaccinated through on-spot registration.

On August 1, Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the health directorate, told The Daily Star that they would employ a similar method this time too.

Mentioning that the ministry is well prepared to implement the campaign, Zahid Maleque said yesterday, "We have trained and experienced doctors and nurses … we have given special attention for the child vaccination."

Meanwhile, one female Covid-19 patient died in the 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, said a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services.

In the same period, the DGHS reported 259 new cases and a positivity rate of 4.09 percent.

With this, the total number of deaths due to Covid-19 rose to 29,314.