Booster doses for senior citizens from Sunday: Health minister
National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 recommends booster shots for citizens above 60 and front liners
Administering Covid-19 booster doses to the country's senior citizens is going to start Sunday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said.
He came up with the announcement while addressing a pitha festival and cultural programme as the chief guest at Garpara Shuvro Centre at Manikganj town on Friday.
He said, "Those aged over 60 and seriously ill will be jabbed with a booster dose of Covid vaccine. The government is going to start the programme next Sunday or Monday across the country."
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The health minister said, "The second wave of the pandemic has come under control in the country. Now, we need to be more careful, so that no more waves hit this winter."
He also urged the people to abide by the health guidelines along with getting the Covid vaccine.
Earlier, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommended booster shots to citizens above 60 and front liners.
The senior citizens and front liners who got the two doses of vaccine six months ago should get preference in receiving the booster dose, the NTAC recommended at a meeting.
It also suggested taking steps to limit public gatherings, meetings, and rallies to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Last Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed health officials to make preparations to administer Covid vaccine booster doses, or third doses, amid the emergence of the 'Omicron' variant in numerous countries of the world.
The PM instructed this at a cabinet meeting over the omicron situation.
On 9 December, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Omicron is now present in 57 countries and asked all countries to stay alert about the new variant.
A WHO panel named the Coronavirus variant "Omicron" and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still causing higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the USA.
Amid growing concern over this new variant of coronavirus, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) suggested the implementation of 15 instructions to prevent the spread of the new variant and urged all concerned to take measures to enforce the instructions.
After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Bangladesh on 27 January, the health ministry rolled out the inoculation drive at five government hospitals in Dhaka on 28 January.
