The government has launched a special mass inoculation campaign against COVID-19, aiming to give the first and second doses to the unvaccinated population.
The Directorate General of Health Services opened the special programme across Bangladesh on Wednesday to celebrate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's birthday. It will continue until October 3, reports bdnews24.com.
This special programme is for those who have not yet taken the first and second doses of the vaccine.
“Bangladesh vaccinated 97 per cent of the population with the first dose, while 90 per cent took the second dose and 41 per cent the booster,” ABM Khurshid Alam, director general of the DGHS, said at a news conference.
“We want to boost the special vaccination programme to reach the vaccination target and to vaccinate people who have not yet been vaccinated,” he said.
Khurshid Alam said the first and second doses of the vaccine will no longer be given after the completion of the special campaign. Only third or booster doses will be administered.
He said the directorate has no plan yet for the fourth dose. “The World Health Organization has yet to issue a guideline. Countries that are offering the fourth vaccine are following their own protocol. If the World Health Organization issues instructions, we will do it too.”