30m students aged 12-17 to be vaccinated

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday said students aged between 12 and 17 across the country will be vaccinated with Pfizer jabs.

“Under the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we decided to inoculate 30 million students aged between 12 and 17,” he told the inaugural function of the countrywide vaccination campaign for students aged 12-17 at Ideal School and College in Motijheel in the city.

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni addressed the function as the chief guest, an official release said here.

The US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller, Education Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain and Director General of Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, among other, addressed the function with Secretary of Health Service Division Lokman Hosen Mian in the chair.

The vaccination campaign for the students began from November 1 at eight centers in Dhaka city.

“As part of the nationwide drive, students aged between 12 and 17 will be inoculated from eight schools in Dhaka city from Monday,” Md Shamsul Haque, line director of Directorate General of Health Service(DGHS) and member secretary of Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Committee said.

The eight schools are Ideal School and College in Motijheel, Hurdco International School at Bashundhara, Southpoint School and College at Malibagh, Chittagong Grammar School at Banani, Dhaka Commerce College in Mirpur, Kakoli High School and College in Dhanmondi, South Breeze School in Uttara and Scholastica School in Mirpur, he added.

As many as 25 booths have been set up in each centre, where students of other schools in the vicinity can come to get vaccinated as well, Haque said.

DGHS Director General said “Initially, the countrywide vaccination campaign for students aged between 12 and 17 began at eight centers in Dhaka city and it (campaign) will be conducted across the country in phases.”

Vaccination drive in Bangladesh

So far, 29,237,863 people have been fully vaccinated in the country while 42,154, 848 received the first dose.

On January 27, Prime Minister Hasina launched the Covid-19 vaccination programme at Kurmitola General Hospital through a videoconference.

The government rolled out a countrywide mass Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7 vaccinating people, aged 55 and above, in the first phase.

On July 29, the government lowered the minimum age limit for taking Covid-19 jabs to 25 from 30 years in a bid to give a boost to the lagging vaccination rates in the country.