DHAKA, Feb 2, 2021 (BSS) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid
Maleque today said vaccine is the only remedy to eradicate COVID-19 pandemic
from the country.
“We have been able to free the country from various diseases including
polio and plague through conducting massive immunization campaign…. Like
previous successes of immunization drive, we can contain the spread of
coronavirus in Bangladesh through injecting vaccines into human body,” he
said here, an official release said.
The minister told a discussion marking the World NTD (Neglected Tropical
Diseases) Day in a city hotel.
Secretary of Health Service Division Abdul Mannan, Director General of
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad
Khurshid Alam, President of Bangladesh Medical Association Dr. Mustafa Jalal
Mohiuddin, President of Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad Dr Iqbal Arsenal,
Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Bardan Jung Rana,
among others, addressed the discussion with Line Director of Infectious
Disease Prevention and Control Unit Dr Nazmul Islam in the chair.
“A section of people are spreading rumour over COVID-19 vaccine… but
people received COVID-19 vaccines spontaneously ignoring their rumours,” the
health minister said adding all sorts of rumours have been proved false as
all vaccine receivers are well.
He said 1.7 crore people are infected by neglected tropical diseases in
the world. Twenty diseases have been identified as neglected tropical
diseases, Maleque said, adding Bangladesh has been able to eradicate 13 NCDs
and the remaining diseases are on the verge of eradication.
The countrywide vaccination drive is set to begin on February 7, the
health ministry sources said.
Bangladesh received its first ever COVID-19 vaccine consignment on January
21 (Thursday) as India sent 20 lakh doses of vaccine developed by the
University of Oxford and AstraZeneca as gift.
The first consignment of COVID-19 50 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines
purchased by the government landed in Dhaka on January 25.
The total vaccine doses stand at 70 lakh doses now, according to the
health ministry.
The possible vaccine recipients as per the priority list are 452,027
government health workers and approved 600,000 private health workers
directly engaged in the Covid-19 health services.
The other priority groups includes – 210,000 freedom fighters, 546,620
members of the frontline law enforcement agencies, 360,913 members from the
military and civil defense forces, 50,000 officials and employees working in
the offices which are indispensable for governing the state, 50,000 frontline
media personnel, 178,298 elected representatives, 150,000 frontline employees
of the city corporations and pourasabhas, 541,000 religious representatives,
75,000 people engaged in funeral works, 400,000 staff engaged in emergency
water, gas, sewerage, power, fire service and transport services.
Besides, 150,000 workers of land, river and air ports, 120,000 expatriate
unskilled workers, 400,000 government employees engaged in district and
upazila-level emergency public services, 197,621 officials and employees of
banks, 625,000 low immunity people (tuberculosis, AIDS and cancer patients),
10,326,658 elderly people from the 64-79 age group, 1,312,973 elderly people
from the 80-plus age group, 21,863 players of the national teams (including
football, cricket and hockey national teams) and 170,000 people from buffer,
emergency and outbreak groups are included in the list.