Dipu Moni: Unvaccinated school students to get first dose by January 31
Shutdown of schools not in the cards yet, says the education minister
Students line up for the first dose of Pfizer vaccine at the Ideal School and College centre in Dhaka's Motijheel where inoculation of school students aged 12-17 took off on Monday, November 1, 2021 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
Tribune Report
Publish : 10 Jan 2022, 12:40 PMUpdate : 10 Jan 2022, 03:23 PM
The education ministry is planning to launch a special drive to inoculate the remaining 7.5 million unvaccinated school students with at least the first dose by January 31.
The joint initiative by the ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is likely to be implemented from January 15, Education Minister Dipu Moni said during a media call on Monday.
Students, aged between 12 and 18 years, will be eligible for the dose upon confirming their school identity, the minister said, adding that it will be much better if they can get the shots at their own schools.
The decision came during a National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) meeting on Sunday when Bangladesh recorded 1,491 new cases with a 6.78% positivity rate.
Educational institutions will not be closed now but it will be considered if such a situation emerges, Dipu Moni said.
She added that the institutions will remain open in a limited capacity and will be closely monitored.
“When we reopened schools, the daily infection rate was at 7% and the situation is similar now,” she said before adding that the situation is better now as a lot of students have already received at least the first dose of the vaccines.
Education Minister Dipu Moni speaking to the media at the Education Ministry on Monday, January 10, 2022 Dhaka Tribune
The minister said that the vaccination for students aged 12-18 will be speeded up and the government will ensure monitoring so that health guidelines are strictly followed.
Students aged 12-18, who are yet to receive the first dose will attend classes online for the time being, the minister said.
Dipu Moni said that the government hopes to schedule the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in the middle of the year but it will depend on the Covid-19 scenario.
She said that the ministry will make necessary announcement at least two months before the exams and urged everyone to not pay heed to any rumors.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that there is enough Pfizer stock in the country to inoculate the students.
According to the education ministry, as many as 4.4 million students out of the little over 11.62 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Around 419,000 have received both doses while some 7.55 million are yet to be inoculated.
On Sunday, the DGHS said that Covid-19 infections in the country have increased by 115% in a week while deaths have gone up 15%.
Dipu Moni: Unvaccinated school students to get first dose by January 31
Shutdown of schools not in the cards yet, says the education minister
The education ministry is planning to launch a special drive to inoculate the remaining 7.5 million unvaccinated school students with at least the first dose by January 31.
The joint initiative by the ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is likely to be implemented from January 15, Education Minister Dipu Moni said during a media call on Monday.
Students, aged between 12 and 18 years, will be eligible for the dose upon confirming their school identity, the minister said, adding that it will be much better if they can get the shots at their own schools.
The decision came during a National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) meeting on Sunday when Bangladesh recorded 1,491 new cases with a 6.78% positivity rate.
Also Read- India's COVID-19 cases multiply, vulnerable groups given vaccine boosters
Educational institutions will not be closed now but it will be considered if such a situation emerges, Dipu Moni said.
She added that the institutions will remain open in a limited capacity and will be closely monitored.
“When we reopened schools, the daily infection rate was at 7% and the situation is similar now,” she said before adding that the situation is better now as a lot of students have already received at least the first dose of the vaccines.
The minister said that the vaccination for students aged 12-18 will be speeded up and the government will ensure monitoring so that health guidelines are strictly followed.
Students aged 12-18, who are yet to receive the first dose will attend classes online for the time being, the minister said.
Dipu Moni said that the government hopes to schedule the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in the middle of the year but it will depend on the Covid-19 scenario.
She said that the ministry will make necessary announcement at least two months before the exams and urged everyone to not pay heed to any rumors.
Also Read- Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 1,491 cases at 6.78% positivity rate
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that there is enough Pfizer stock in the country to inoculate the students.
According to the education ministry, as many as 4.4 million students out of the little over 11.62 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Around 419,000 have received both doses while some 7.55 million are yet to be inoculated.
On Sunday, the DGHS said that Covid-19 infections in the country have increased by 115% in a week while deaths have gone up 15%.
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