Professor Sayedur Rahman, a drug expert and head of the Pharmacology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Prothom-alo"It's good to have the desire to get more people vaccinated," Kay said. "But it's important to ensure that those in the age group where deaths are high get vaccinated first. Priority should be given to the at-risk population in the limited number of vaccines."
Population vs. Vaccination
According to the United Nations World Population Projections (2020), the country's population is 164.7 million. Demographers say that the population over the age of 35 is 34.1 million. 68.2 million vaccines are needed to give them two doses.
So far, the country has received a total of 16 million vaccines. Of these, 13 million are from Oxford-AstraZeneca from the Serum Institute of India, 3.1 million are from China's Sinopharm, 2.5 million are from the US's Moderna and 100,000 are from Pfizer through Covax. This will allow a maximum of 8 million people to be vaccinated.
Dr. Shamsul Haque, Director of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program of the Directorate General of Health Services Prothom-alo"Who said, '15 million vaccines have been purchased from China's Sinopharm. Two million vaccines have already arrived. The remaining vaccines will arrive shortly.'"
When all of Sinopharm's vaccines arrive, the total number of vaccines will reach 29 million. This will ensure two doses of vaccine for 14.5 million people.
Apart from this, Bangladesh is scheduled to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Covax. That vaccine will come from the Serum Institute of India. But health department officials are still unable to confirm when that vaccine will arrive. However, the government's efforts to procure vaccines from various sources are continuing. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the same in the last parliament session.
The government has a plan to vaccinate 80 percent of the country's population in phases. For this, 131.76 million people will have to be vaccinated. A total of 263.52 million vaccines will be needed to give them two doses. Many are skeptical about how this huge amount of vaccines will be collected or purchased.
So far, about 5 percent of the country's total population has been vaccinated. If all goes well, another 5 percent will be vaccinated in the next three to four months. "What's the point of this?" Professor Sayedur Rahman asked. Prothom-alo"Even if 10 percent of vaccinated people develop infections, many of them will not need to go to the hospital. Even if some do go to the hospital, many will need less oxygen. Many of those who need oxygen will not need ICU care. There will be fewer deaths among vaccinated people," he said.
Registration is ongoing.
After being closed for a while, registration for vaccination has resumed on June 26. However, this opportunity is mainly available to expatriate workers, medical students, students in government university residential halls, police, and Bangladeshi students studying abroad.
Professor Mizanur Rahman, Director of Management Information Systems at the Directorate General of Health Services Prothom-aloWho said there is a possibility of opening registration to all people aged 35 and over next week.
Who will get the new vaccine?
Everyone aged 35 years and above can register for the vaccine on the Suraksha app. However, the government has a special initiative to vaccinate farmers, industrial workers and transport workers. Dr Shamsul Haque, Director of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program of the Directorate General of Health Services Prothom-alo"It has been decided to request a list of farmers, workers and transport workers from the relevant ministries. After receiving the list from the ministry, the farmers and workers will be registered," he said. Farmers and workers who have reached the age of 35 can register themselves, he said.
Moderna only in the metropolis
The US Moderna vaccine, which came through COVAX, will be given only to 12 metropolitan cities. Citizens of Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barisal, Rangpur and Comilla City Corporations will receive the Moderna vaccine.
Dr. Shamsul Haque Prothom-aloWho said that China's Sinopharm vaccine will be given in the rest of the districts and upazilas of the country? In response to the question of why the Moderna vaccine will be given only in the metropolitan cities, he said that the cold temperatures at which the Moderna vaccine needs to be stored are not available at the district level. The metropolitan cities have that system.
