Bangladesh will extend the mass campaign to administer the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by two more days to Feb 28, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The DGHS made the decision due to the high turnout at vaccination centres on the first day of the programme, said Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora, an additional director general at the agency and the president of the Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Committee.
“There are still heavy crowds at vaccination centres,” she said. “Many people have had to wait for extended periods. And so, we have discussed the matter and decided to extend the drive until Feb 28.”
The health official urged everyone who had not registered to get the vaccine and those who had registered but not received the first dose of the vaccine to get it during the vaccination drive. No one needs to wait for an SMS, she said.
Even after the drive ends, people will still be able to get the first dose of the vaccine at permanent vaccination centres, reports bdnews24.
“We never said that we would stop administering the first dose,” Dr Flora said. “There shouldn’t be any confusion on the matter. We said we would administer the vaccine to everyone by Feb 26. But, if someone was unable to get the first dose of the vaccine for any logical reason, they will be able to get the shot from the permanent vaccination centres that are administering the second dose and booster dose of the vaccine.”
Bangladesh is working to administer 10 million doses of the Covid vaccine on Saturday. Vaccination centres across the country were crowded by thousands who had yet to get their first dose. Many of them registered for the vaccine, but had not received an SMS calling them for their shot.
More than 109 million people have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine until Feb 25, according to government data. The government has also administered 81.9 million second doses while over 3.5 people have taken their booster shots.
