Vaccine only treatment for eradication of COVID-19: Maleque
Health and Spouse and children Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday said vaccine may be the only remedy to eliminate COVID-19 pandemic from the country.
“We have been in a position to free the country from different diseases including polio and plague through conducting massive immunization campaign…. Like previous successes of immunization travel, we can contain the pass on of coronavirus in Bangladesh through injecting vaccines into body,” he said, the official release said.
The minister told a discussion marking the Community NTD (Neglected Tropical Diseases) Day time in a city hotel.
Secretary of Health Provider Division Abdul Mannan, Director Standard of Directorate Standard of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, President of Bangladesh Medical Association Dr. Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, President of Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad Dr Iqbal Arsenal, Representative of the Environment Health Corporation (WHO) Dr Bardan Jung Rana, amongst others, resolved the discussion with Line Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Product Dr Nazmul Islam in the chair.
“A section of men and women are spreading rumour over COVID-19 vaccine… but people received COVID-19 vaccines spontaneously ignoring their rumours,” the health minister said adding a variety of rumours have already been proved false as all vaccine receivers are good.
He said 1.7 crore people are infected by neglected tropical diseases on earth. Twenty diseases have been recognized as neglected tropical diseases, Maleque explained, adding Bangladesh has had the opportunity to eliminate 13 NCDs and the remaining diseases happen to be on the verge of eradication.
The countrywide vaccination get is set to get started on February 7, medical ministry sources said.
Bangladesh received its 1st ever COVID-19 vaccine consignment on January 21 (Thursday) due to India sent 20 lakh doses of vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca seeing as gift.
The first consignment of COVID-19 50 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines purchased by the federal government landed in Dhaka on January 25.
The full total vaccine doses stand at 70 lakh doses now, based on the health ministry.
The possible vaccine recipients according to the priority list are 452,027 government health personnel and approved 600,000 private health workers directly engaged in the Covid-19 health services.
The other priority groups includes - 210,000 freedom fighters, 546,620 members of the frontline law enforcement agencies, 360,913 members from the military and civil defense forces, 50,000 officials and employees working in the offices which are indispensable for governing the state, 50,000 frontline media personnel, 178,298 elected representatives, 150,000 frontline employees of metropolis corporations and pourasabhas, 541,000 religious representatives, 75,000 people engaged in funeral works, 400,000 staff engaged in emergency water, gas, sewerage, power, fire service and transport services.
Besides, 150,000 personnel of property, river and surroundings ports, 120,000 expatriate unskilled workers, 400,000 government employees engaged in district and upazila-level emergency public solutions, 197,621 officials and employees of banks, 625,000 low immunity persons (tuberculosis, AIDS and tumor patients), 10,326,658 elderly persons from the 64-79 generation, 1,312,973 elderly persons from the 80-as well as age group, 21,863 players of the national teams (including football, cricket and hockey national groups) and 170,000 persons from buffer, emergency and outbreak groups are included in the list.
