Mass vaccination: Centres in Dhaka overwhelmed by long queues
Mass inoculation program for second dose will continue tomorrow
Vaccination centres were overwhelmed with the large crowd that gathered to receive the second dose of coronavirus vaccines in a mass inoculation drive on Thursday, October 28, 2021 Bangla Tribune
Tribune Report
Publish : 28 Oct 2021, 03:23 PMUpdate : 26 Dec 2021, 03:27 PM
The health authorities yesterday witnessed an enormous response from vaccine recipients who got their first dose during the mass inoculation program on September 28, launched on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.
The government has targeted inoculating some 8.1 million in total yesterday and tomorrow through the drive.
The health authorities inoculated 6,758,992 people on September 28 and 1,334,244 people the following day. A total of 8,093,236 doses were administered in two days.
The special campaign to administer the second dose, for those aged 25 and above, started across the country yesterday with large crowds gathered at centres in unions, upazilas and district towns.
In Dhaka, some 54,000 people got their first dose at 56 temporary centres set up in Dhaka North City Corporation, while 28,702 got their vaccine in Dhaka South City Corporation’s 75 temporary centres.
A total of 24,400 people in 75 centres of 75 wards of DSCC received the second dose.
People who took the first dose but could not take the second one yesterday have been advised to do so from tomorrow till Thursday from any of the nearest centres at Khilgaon, Dhalpur, Azimpur, Mugda, and Kasaituli urban primary health care centres under the DSCC.
Visiting several centres in the city, Dhaka Tribune found that people had gathered and formed long queues to receive the second dose of the vaccine in the mass inoculation drive. The picture was slightly different in rural areas, where such crowds were not observed.
Hundreds of people queued at the Amulia Government Primary School in Dhaka south in the morning yesterday.
According to the centre supervisor, Al Amin, the drive started late at 9:30am instead of the scheduled 8am as the vaccines, coming in from Mugda General Hospital, were delayed.
The situation was the same at Ward 74’s temporary inoculation centre in the south city.
Salma Akhter, a homemaker from Nandipara, said that she had registered for the vaccine in mid-August but did not receive any SMS, which is why she took her shot during the mass drive at the local councillor’s office.
“It feels safer to take the vaccine, given how the virus is spreading,” she said.
Meanwhile, long queues were seen at the centres in Khilgaon, South Goran and Sipahibag health complexes. However, despite the large crowds, there was no disorder.
According to Arafat Hossain, a volunteer, those coming for the second dose had all received SMSes.
According to DNCC Chief Health Officer Md Jobaidur Rahman, the authorities were trying to inoculate all present by yesterday but if anyone was left out they could receive their dose tomorrow.
The government readied 80,000 health workers, including 48,059 volunteers, to make the countrywide vaccination campaign a success.
As of September 27, a little over 24.88 million people had received the first shot, while nearly 16.50 million had been fully vaccinated.
Bangladesh set a target to vaccinate 80% of the country's population by 2022 under an accelerated inoculation campaign.
The government has so far approved eight Covid-19 vaccines to control the deadly virus.
The approved vaccines are from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, CoronaVac, Pfizer, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque, following a cabinet meeting in the capital, said after receiving some 5.5million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine on October 27, the government now had over 20 million doses of vaccines.
“On Thursday [yesterday] and Saturday [tomorrow] we will inoculate around 8 million people,” he said, adding that all other vaccination programs would continue.
Mass vaccination: Centres in Dhaka overwhelmed by long queues
The health authorities yesterday witnessed an enormous response from vaccine recipients who got their first dose during the mass inoculation program on September 28, launched on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.
The government has targeted inoculating some 8.1 million in total yesterday and tomorrow through the drive.
The health authorities inoculated 6,758,992 people on September 28 and 1,334,244 people the following day. A total of 8,093,236 doses were administered in two days.
The special campaign to administer the second dose, for those aged 25 and above, started across the country yesterday with large crowds gathered at centres in unions, upazilas and district towns.
In Dhaka, some 54,000 people got their first dose at 56 temporary centres set up in Dhaka North City Corporation, while 28,702 got their vaccine in Dhaka South City Corporation’s 75 temporary centres.
A total of 24,400 people in 75 centres of 75 wards of DSCC received the second dose.
People who took the first dose but could not take the second one yesterday have been advised to do so from tomorrow till Thursday from any of the nearest centres at Khilgaon, Dhalpur, Azimpur, Mugda, and Kasaituli urban primary health care centres under the DSCC.
Visiting several centres in the city, Dhaka Tribune found that people had gathered and formed long queues to receive the second dose of the vaccine in the mass inoculation drive. The picture was slightly different in rural areas, where such crowds were not observed.
Hundreds of people queued at the Amulia Government Primary School in Dhaka south in the morning yesterday.
According to the centre supervisor, Al Amin, the drive started late at 9:30am instead of the scheduled 8am as the vaccines, coming in from Mugda General Hospital, were delayed.
The situation was the same at Ward 74’s temporary inoculation centre in the south city.
Salma Akhter, a homemaker from Nandipara, said that she had registered for the vaccine in mid-August but did not receive any SMS, which is why she took her shot during the mass drive at the local councillor’s office.
“It feels safer to take the vaccine, given how the virus is spreading,” she said.
Meanwhile, long queues were seen at the centres in Khilgaon, South Goran and Sipahibag health complexes. However, despite the large crowds, there was no disorder.
Also Read- Covid-19 vaccination: Bangladesh lags behind target
According to Arafat Hossain, a volunteer, those coming for the second dose had all received SMSes.
According to DNCC Chief Health Officer Md Jobaidur Rahman, the authorities were trying to inoculate all present by yesterday but if anyone was left out they could receive their dose tomorrow.
The government readied 80,000 health workers, including 48,059 volunteers, to make the countrywide vaccination campaign a success.
As of September 27, a little over 24.88 million people had received the first shot, while nearly 16.50 million had been fully vaccinated.
Bangladesh set a target to vaccinate 80% of the country's population by 2022 under an accelerated inoculation campaign.
The government has so far approved eight Covid-19 vaccines to control the deadly virus.
The approved vaccines are from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, CoronaVac, Pfizer, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque, following a cabinet meeting in the capital, said after receiving some 5.5million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine on October 27, the government now had over 20 million doses of vaccines.
“On Thursday [yesterday] and Saturday [tomorrow] we will inoculate around 8 million people,” he said, adding that all other vaccination programs would continue.
Topics: