The International Organization for Migration has successfully inoculated 17 per cent of Rohingya refugees, who are 50 years and above, in Cox's Bazar as part of Bangladesh government’s ongoing vaccination programme.
According to its monthly situation report published on Sunday, the UN body said 36,943 Rohingya refugees received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at IOM health facilities.
Of them, 21,673 were male and 15,270 were female. The first phase of the campaign aimed to reach 43,093 refugees through this facility-based approach.
The vaccination campaign started on August 10, and out of the 34 selected sites for vaccination, 10 were IOM health facilities.
A total of 46 IOM health workers were trained on vaccination Standard Operating Procedures as well as guidelines on Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), the report added.
For this campaign, IOM distributed 11,693 Information, Education & Communication (IEC) materials related to vaccination and reached 134,666 beneficiaries through the house to house visits, and conducted awareness-raising sessions. The next round for the second dose will begin in early September, the report said.
In addition, through the provision of tablets and orientation for staff on data entry, IOM also supported five government facilities in Cox’s Bazar with Covid-19 vaccination registration for the host community, with 423 registrations done this month.
