Covid-19 continues to escalate in the country, and currently, a much-needed hard lockdown has been enforced across Bangladesh, with the hope of curbing its spread.
With that said, while the ultimate goal initially may have been to gain herd immunity as a nation -- where about 80% of the entire population gains some form of antibodies to fight the coronavirus -- this will prove to be next to impossible for even Dhaka, let alone the whole country, as stated by a senior scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).
Due to the changing nature of this virus, people are getting infected despite having antibodies, yet, the goal should be, and has always been, to minimize the suffering and death caused by this pandemic.
In order to achieve this, as has been touted time and time again, there is simply no alternative to vaccination. Beyond reaching herd immunity which may appear to be out of reach currently, antibodies developed as a result of vaccination and not prior infection offers far more protection and boosts immunity and the body’s ability to stave off the virus, not to mention, even if re-affected, it greatly reduces the chance of severe illness.
While different vaccines may offer different levels of protection, ultimately, they all help significantly, and this is the only thing that truly matters. This is why, while lockdowns and other safety measures remain extremely important components that citizens must comply with, ultimately, vaccination is and will remain the gold standard in ending a pandemic, and our best chance of minimizing the suffering and pain caused by this pandemic.
