The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will not administer second dose of Covid vaccine after November as vaccines in stock will expire at the end of the month.
“Some 3.3 million people, who are eligible right now, yet to get their first dose. Some over 9 million people are expected to get the second dose,” Dr Md Shamsul Haque, secretary general of Covid-19 Vaccine Management Taskforce Committee, said.
“The first or the second dose of Covid vaccines will not be available in Bangladesh after November, as by then the existing stock will expire. Also, the possibility of purchasing more vaccines is little”, he said.
However, booster dose administration would be continued as before.
“From August, we will start the campaign to vaccinate children aged between five and 11 years against Covid-19,” he also added.
The high-ranking DGHS official said the booster dose campaign would continue across the country, "but people are still showing reluctance to get vaccinated".
According to the directorate, a significant number of people, 70 per cent, who have died of Covid so far in the country were not vaccinated against the disease.
