Vaccination drive: Health workers’ leave cancelled till 10 Feb
Health workers in Bangladesh will not be able to leave their respective workplaces until 10 February as the government is set to roll out its nationwide vaccination campaign, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Monday, reports UNB.
DGHS Director general ABM Khurshid Alam Khurshid Alam said the government has cancelled the leave of health workers as it is getting ready to launch its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign next week.
Speaking with civil surgeons, upazila health officers and directors of medical college hospitals at virtual meeting, the DG, however, said the vaccination campaign would remain closed on public holidays.
“More than 20,000 people have already registered online to inoculate the COVID-19 shots. Besides, spot registration facilities will be arranged for those who failed to get registered online,” he said.
DGHS additional DG Meerjady Sabrina Flora said 400,000 doses of the vaccine were allotted for Dhaka district.
Nasima Sultana, another DGHS additional director general, said: “All the initial recipients of the vaccine, including me, are doing well.”
Earlier on Sunday, Khurshid Alam said vaccine doses will reach 64 districts of the country by Monday as the mass vaccination drive is set to begin on 7 February and 7,400 health teams have been working to carry out the vaccination drive.
On 27 January, prime minister Sheikh launched the COVID-19 vaccination programme at Kurmitola General Hospital through a video conference.
The health ministry rolled out the inoculation drive at five government hospitals in Dhaka the next day.
Bangladesh received 7000,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, 2 million as a gift from India and five million as part of a contract with India’s Serum Institute.
Bangladesh plans to inoculate 80 per cent of its population and the COVID-19 shots will be administered in five stages under three phases, according to the national vaccine distribution and preparation plan.