With around 2 million people vaccinated in the first two weeks since vaccination started in Bangladesh, it is safe to say that our country has done a tremendous job of vaccinating its population, and the government, relevant stakeholders, and all those responsible deserve full credit for creating an efficient, easy system.
To that end, Bangladesh’s success in administering the vaccine is rightfully being attributed to previously existing programs in place. According to health experts, virologists, and physicians in the country, despite the Covid-19 vaccination being the first mass level adult vaccination in Bangladesh, the process has been seamless due to the World Health Organization’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) which has been in place since 1979.
Indeed, the DGHS Director General Dr ABM Khurshid Alam, from the very beginning of the campaign, was confident that vaccination would be managed without much difficulty as they had gained sufficient experience from the EPI. This once again demonstrates the importance of having strong foundational elements in place upon which to build upon, in particular, robust health systems and processes.
Bangladesh must now use this experience as a lesson moving forward. Yes, we are being more successful than many countries in administering the Covid-19 vaccine, but that must not detract from the fact that we are in dire need of updating our health care system, nor the reality that we remain underprepared for future shocks to our health care system.
The presence of the EPI has clearly demonstrated the merits of pre-existing systems to help build capacity and experience, and it is imperative that, moving forward, the government takes a pro-active approach with health care so that we remain prepared to deal with any public health crisis that comes our way.
