The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Monday informed that the vaccine program for children aged 5-11 years will initially start from Dhaka.
“I can say that it is not possible to vaccinate all the children in the country considering the number of vaccines we have at the moment. So, we will initially start vaccination at a centre in Dhaka city,” DGHS Director General (DG) Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam said while talking to reporters after a programme in Dhaka.
“We will fix the date and disclose the details about children’s vaccination after Health Minister Zahid Malek returns to the country,” he said.
The areas of Dhaka where the number of covid-19 infections and death is high will be vaccinated first. The DGHS has called for registration for the children’s vaccination already.
If schools register with the DGHS and give the number of children who need to be vaccinated, the DGHS will take the initiative to vaccinate the children in that school, the DG informed.
“This is a special vaccine; it is not always available when requested. Inoculation, storage and syringes are all different,” he said, emphasising the fact that a single vaccine cannot go to waste and the DGHS will try to ensure maximum use of the vaccine.
Earlier, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the DGHS said that 15,02,400 doses of Pfizer vaccine specially prepared for children aged 5 to 11 reached Dhaka on Saturday morning.
