Vaccination campaign begins in Bangladesh, 50 inoculated at BSMMU in first hour

A man is being injected with COVID-19 vaccine at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on 7 February 2021
Abdullah Alif

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign began across Bangladesh on Sunday. A total of 1,005 hospitals have been inoculating people. In Dhaka, 50 people were vaccinated at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU) as part of the campaign in the first hour.

Eight booths have been installed at the hospital for the vaccination. VVIP (Very very important people) and the frontliners are being vaccinated at BSMMU.

The vaccinated people are being taken at a post-vaccination room for observation for a certain period. A ‘post-vaccine management’ centre has also been opened at the hospital to manage any complexities that may appear after the vaccination.

Before taking the vaccine, gynecology department associate professor Tarafder Runa Laila told Prothom Alo that she was not fearful as she has taken vaccines earlier as well. There will not be any problem this time either, she hoped.

Before taking the jab, government official Mobarak Hossain said he got an SMS about the vaccine on Saturday night. Since then a suppressed excitement was working within him.

The health directorate (DGHS) has taken a preparation to inoculate 360,000 people on the first day of the vaccination campaign. But until Saturday, the number of people registered to take the jab was 348,000, falling short of the target.

The Bangladesh government has seven million doses of the vaccine. Among them, the Indian government has given two million doses of the vaccine as a gift and remaining five million were bought from Serum Institute of India. These vaccines will be given to 3.5 million people.

On 27 January, prime minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the vaccine at Kurmitola General Hospital in the capital. Twenty one were inoculated that day. On the next day, 546 people were vaccinated in five hospitals in the capital.

In a media briefing on Saturday, the health directorate said all the 567 people vaccinated were healthy and did not show any significant side effects.

The government officials, however, could not say how long the vaccine campaign will be run from today. Last month they said that the campaign will be run on two days a week, and not on government holidays.

The health directorate on Saturday said, “We will take action according to the situation. We will continue the vaccination.”