Bangladesh plans to vaccinate 8m people on Hasina’s birthday

Bangladesh will hold a nationwide mass drive on Tuesday in an effort to administer COVID-19 vaccines to eight million more citizens, says Health Minister Zahid Maleque.

The drive will be held in addition to the country’s regular vaccination schedule, the health minister said at a virtual press conference on Sunday.

“We did a similar vaccine drive before and we will do another on Sept 28. It is the honourable prime minister’s birthday, so we plan to start it then. Currently, we are giving 600,000 doses a day and that programme will also continue.”

“We will take vaccines to villages and rural areas. Our goal is to reach those who live in remote areas, the poor, the elderly and others who may have difficulty getting to vaccination centres.”

Asked who will get the vaccines, the health minister said it would be available to anyone who registers.

“Those above the age of 25 and those who have registered will get the vaccines. Men and women over the age of 40, those with physical disabilities and those who live in remote areas will be prioritised. Those who bring their national IDs can also get vaccines under this campaign.”

The vaccination campaign will encompass 4,600 unions, 1,054 municipalities, and 443 wards in the city corporations, the health minister said.

Each union will have three booths, each municipality one and each city corporation ward three, he said. Vaccines will be administered starting at 9 am.

A total of 32,106 health workers have been assigned to the vaccination drive, alongside more than 48,000 volunteers providing support.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, over 24.19 million people received the first dose of the COVID vaccine as of Saturday. Some 16.03 million have received the second dose.