Bangladesh launches vaccination campaign as nurse Runu takes first shot

The vaccination campaign of Bangladesh has been launched by inoculating first shot to Runu Veronica Costa, a senior nurse of Kurmitola General Hospital, at 4:8pm today, Wednesday.

She received the first shot after the prime minister Sheikh Hasina had virtually inaugurated the vaccination campaign from her official resident Gonobhaban.

In the inauguration ceremony of COVID-19 vaccination, some five people from different professions have been vaccinated at Kurmitola General Hospital.

They are Ahmed Lutfun Mobin, a physician of the hospital, Nasima Sultana, additional director general (admin) of the Director General of Health Services, Brig Gen M Imran Hamid, an official of Bangladesh Army, and Didarul Islam, a member of traffic police (Motijheel Zone).

UND adds: At the function, health minister Zahid Maleque said now 7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine are available in the country. Bangladesh first received two million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India as a gift and then received five more million doses from Serum Institute of India.

He said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is the safest one in the world. The treatment facility is available in case of any side effect of the vaccine.

As many as 500 frontline health professionals will be vaccinated tomorrow, Thursday at five different hospitals in capital city.