Health authorities in Bangladesh will start administering the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine from China among the people from Thursday.
Dr Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the Vaccine Deployment Committee, disclosed the development during a virtual bulletin on Wednesday.
Apart from all medical college hospitals, district hospitals, Sadar hospitals and 250-bed hospitals across the country, the vaccination program will be conducted at Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) Hospital in Chittagong and Syedpur Sadar Hospital from 8am to 3pm, he added.
Moreover, vaccination programs are already underway at 48 centres in Dhaka. But this time, eight centres will be excluded and the Sinopharm vaccine will be administered at 40 centres, said Dr Haque, also a director at the health directorate.
The Sinopharm vaccine will be given to those on the priority list, he said, adding that it includes medical, nursing students, university students, and law enforcement agencies.
Those who have not been able to get the vaccine by registering before will also be able to get this vaccine. In addition, expatriate workers can also get the Sinopharm vaccine before going abroad.
A nationwide limited lockdown, which began on Monday, ends on Wednesday.
A wee-long hard lockdown will start from 6am Thursday to curb the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths across the country.
During the lockdown, the government will also deploy members of the armed forces and Border Guard Bangladesh, apart from the police, to ensure that Covid-19 safety rules are being followed and imposed strictly.
All types of public transports -- road, railway and waterway -- and mechanized vehicles will remain suspended during the lockdown.
However, Dr Haque said the nationwide vaccination campaign will also resume from Thursday amid the lockdown. From Wednesday onwards, people will be able to start registering for the vaccines on the Surokkha website.
“Vaccine recipients will be out of lockdown purview. But those travelling to get their shots must carry their vaccine cards to show them to the law enforcers when asked,” he added.
No one will get the vaccine without registration and confirmation via SMS.