Vaccine distribution in Bangladesh: PM Hasina outlines who to get and how many

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday outlined who will get how many Covid-19 vaccine doses among the priority groups.

She placed the statistics in this regard in Parliament replying to a tabled question from Awami League MP Ahsanul Islam Titu (Tangail-6).

According to the statistics, the possible vaccine recipients are all the 452,027 government health workers and 600,000 private health workers (of approved private entities), who are directly engaged in providing Covid-19 health services.

Among other priority groups, there are 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 men, 178,298 elected representatives, 150,000 frontline employees of the city corporations and municipalities, 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 workers of land, river and airports, 120,000 expatriate unskilled workers, 400,000 government employees engaged in district and upazila-level emergency public services, 197,621 officials and employees of banks, 625,000 low immunity people (tuberculosis, AIDS and cancer patients), 10,326,658 elderly people from the 64-79 age group, 1,312,973 elderly people from the 80-plus age group, 21,863 players of the national teams (including Football, Cricket and Hockey national teams) and 170,000 people from  buffer, emergency and outbreak groups are among the priority recipients.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh will get 6.80 crore doses of vaccine for 20 percent of its population that means for 3.40 crore people from the World Health Organisation (WHO), COVAX facility.              

Sheikh Hasina said the list of the vaccine recipients of priority groups was prepared considering the guidelines of the Scientific Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) of the WHO and the country's context.

In the first phase of vaccine distribution, 1.50 crore people (8.86pc of population) will get two doses of inoculation over a span of two weeks in Bangladesh, she added.

The vaccine will be preserved in 64 district EPI stores and 483 EPI stores of the country, said the Prime Minister.

Bangladesh receives vaccine

On January 25, Bangladesh received the first consignment of 50 lakh doses of Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII).

Earlier January 21, Dhaka received 20 lakh doses of Covid vaccine as the Indian government sent the jabs as a gift to Bangladesh.

With the January 25 ones, 70 lakh doses of vaccine are now there in government hands for launching the national vaccination against Covid-19.

Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) through Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to procure three crore doses of Covishield.