The government has hit pause on plans to press ahead with a mass vaccination drive against COVID-19 due to vaccine stocks running low, according to Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
The nationwide immunisation campaign will start as soon as enough doses are secured, he told reporters after an event in Dhaka's Mohakhali on Sunday.
Pointing to Bangladesh's agreement with China to buy 60 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, the minister said another shipment is due later this month. "We’ve already received 5.4 million vaccines this month. Vaccination activities have resumed. Another 5 million doses will arrive later this month."
Normal vaccination operations will continue in the meantime, he added, reports bdnews24.com.
The government has recently conducted a six-day mass immunisation programme from Aug 7 to add a layer of protection zone against the relentless pandemic.
On why the government paused the vaccination programme, the minister said, "We've proved that we’ve the capacity to carry out vaccination drives. We administered 3.4 million vaccines in a day. There has also been a trial run. Our programmes for the days ahead will continue subject to the availability of vaccines."
“If there’s a lot of vaccines in stock, then this activity will continue on two fronts -- cities and villages. If that isn't the case then we'll design our programme accordingly. We will go to the village level once we get the vaccines.”
Maleque also shed light on the plans to co-produce vaccines at home and said an agreement will be reached next week.
"We also have an agreement with Russia [over the purchase of Sputnik-V vaccines]. We’re now waiting for the shipments. India owes us 23 million doses. None of the vaccination activities have been held up. The mass vaccination programme will resume once we have enough doses.”
The minister also highlighted the mortality rate for women and said they will be prioritised for vaccines.
"Women will get priority because they are dying the most. The elderly account for 90 percent of the deaths [from COVID]. A lot of women have also died -- most of them middle-aged."
