Covid booster shots for frontliners, elderly to start this month
Covid booster shots to start this month
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Tribune Report
Publish : 13 Dec 2021, 10:58 PMUpdate : 06 Jan 2022, 02:20 PM
The health authorities will start administering booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine for frontline workers as well as people aged 60 and above within this month against the backdrop of the rapid transmission of the new variant Omicron, Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said.
Earlier, the minister stated that only people aged 60 or above would get the booster dose.
The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) has also recommended starting a procedure to administer booster doses for the vulnerable section of the population.
On the other hand, the Cabinet Division has asked the authorities concerned to work on a precise guideline on booster doses in the country.
The health minister after attending the weekly Cabinet meeting on Monday day said preparations were underway to start a campaign for booster doses.
“We now have 2,500 vaccination booths. Instructions have been given to set up another 1,000,” Maleque told reporters.
As the protection offered by Covid vaccines wanes over time, the developed countries have already rolled out a third dose amid the emergence of the Omicron variant, potentially more contagious than the Delta variant, say experts.
Around 25% of the total population have already received both shots. According to the health directorate, over 66 million people have received at least the first dose, while a little over 42 million received both.
The NTAC encouraged the government’s initiatives to administer booster doses for people above 60 and frontliners. They also urged the health authorities to limit all sorts of gatherings.
Formulating guidelines
The directive to formulate a precise guideline on the booster dose came at the regular Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
She joined the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban, while other ministers and officials concerned were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The NTAC and the Health Ministry were instructed on it and so they would remain ready about whether the booster dose would be given free or on payment, and to submit a guideline following discussions, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters.
He said the prime minister had earlier instructed the technical committee to work out a precise guideline before launching the campaign.
He said since world-renowned scientists had recommended booster doses to ensure immunity from Covid, the meeting asked the authorities concerned to pay special attention to how the booster doses could be rolled out in Bangladesh.
The cabinet secretary said that he had got a complete protocol over Omicron from his close friend and his spouse, two senior consultants in South Africa. In the protocol, they said the variant spread rapidly but its effect was not as dangerous as that of the Delta strain.
Covid booster shots for frontliners, elderly to start this month
Covid booster shots to start this month
The health authorities will start administering booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine for frontline workers as well as people aged 60 and above within this month against the backdrop of the rapid transmission of the new variant Omicron, Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said.
Earlier, the minister stated that only people aged 60 or above would get the booster dose.
The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) has also recommended starting a procedure to administer booster doses for the vulnerable section of the population.
On the other hand, the Cabinet Division has asked the authorities concerned to work on a precise guideline on booster doses in the country.
The health minister after attending the weekly Cabinet meeting on Monday day said preparations were underway to start a campaign for booster doses.
“We now have 2,500 vaccination booths. Instructions have been given to set up another 1,000,” Maleque told reporters.
Also Read - Omicron: Booster shot gets priority, compulsory quarantine for travellers
As the protection offered by Covid vaccines wanes over time, the developed countries have already rolled out a third dose amid the emergence of the Omicron variant, potentially more contagious than the Delta variant, say experts.
Around 25% of the total population have already received both shots. According to the health directorate, over 66 million people have received at least the first dose, while a little over 42 million received both.
The NTAC encouraged the government’s initiatives to administer booster doses for people above 60 and frontliners. They also urged the health authorities to limit all sorts of gatherings.
Formulating guidelines
The directive to formulate a precise guideline on the booster dose came at the regular Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
She joined the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban, while other ministers and officials concerned were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The NTAC and the Health Ministry were instructed on it and so they would remain ready about whether the booster dose would be given free or on payment, and to submit a guideline following discussions, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters.
He said the prime minister had earlier instructed the technical committee to work out a precise guideline before launching the campaign.
He said since world-renowned scientists had recommended booster doses to ensure immunity from Covid, the meeting asked the authorities concerned to pay special attention to how the booster doses could be rolled out in Bangladesh.
The cabinet secretary said that he had got a complete protocol over Omicron from his close friend and his spouse, two senior consultants in South Africa. In the protocol, they said the variant spread rapidly but its effect was not as dangerous as that of the Delta strain.
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