"We will continue the special campaign in several places where the local target has not been reached."

— Shamsul Haque member secretary of the National Covid-19 Vaccine Management Task force.

Barishal, Mymensingh, and Sylhet divisions have yet to reach the target of inoculating 70 percent of the population aged 12 years and above.

The national average of first dose coverage is nearly 72 percent, according to data from the Directorate General of Health Services.

Sylhet division has the lowest numbers with 65.60 percent of its 1.21 crore people eligible to get the shots having had their first shot as of Sunday, the second day of the special vaccination campaign that ended yesterday.

In Mymensingh division, around 66.60 percent of 1.14 crore people received their first jab while in Barishal the percentage is 67.40.

Dhaka division performed the best with nearly 78 percent of the people inoculated, followed by Khulna division with 70.7 percent.

"We will continue the special campaign in several places where the local target has not been reached," Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the National Covid-19 Vaccine Management Task force, told The Daily Star yesterday.

To reach the national target of inoculating 70 percent of the people with at least one shot, the DGHS suspended the usual requirement of an online registration on February 16.

The special campaign, initially planned for just Saturday, was extended as vaccinators across the country were overwhelmed by crowds turning up at the booths.

On Saturday, around 1.12 crore people took their first jab while around 19.34 lakh people received their first jab on Sunday.

Dr Shamsul said around two crore people aged 12 and over were yet to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, more than half the people who received the first dose were yet to get their second one, according to the DGHS data.

Experts said vaccination targets should be achieved in all regions as early as possible to make the best of the vaccination campaign.

"The campaign has been strengthened, but it needs to be well-planned. The health directorate has decades-long experience; they can make micro-plans to reach the people proportionately," Mushtuq Hussain, consultant of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told The Daily Star yesterday.

The government originally had a target to inoculate 80 percent of the people aged 18 and above by the end of 2021. Amid disruptions in vaccine supply, the government on January 20, announced plans to vaccinate 70 percent of the population aged 12 and above.