Vaccine registrations and doses have begun in full swing all over the country. People not only in the capital but all over Bangladesh have crowded hospitals and registration booths to get their jabs considering the alarming Covid-19 situation in the country at the moment.
Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of DGHS told Bangladesh Post that it is important to bring the whole nation under the vaccination programme.
“Previously we saw that people in the city were mostly infected. Now we see a different scenario. People in different parts of the country are infected in high numbers so it is important that the vaccine reaches those people as well,” he said
He added that with the multiple variants, it is difficult to judge who will get more effected in the future. Hence, vaccination is an important strategy to tackle such public health crisis. People were seen waiting in long queues in front of booths for registration for vaccination at various hospitals.
The booths have been seen running from morning till the afternoon in several parts of the country. Moreover, online registration has seen a significant increase in traffic countrywide.
With the increase in Covid-19 infections in the country in recent days, many people have become more aware and encouraged to get vaccines. The public seem more and more influenced to get vaccinated.
Morsheda Begum told the correspondent that she registered on Sunday and she has already received the date for her first jab.
“I am expecting to receive my first dose today. Other members of my family have also registered and the response we got was quite fast compared to that of the previous session of vaccination,” she said.
Many people in queue in front of the registration booth of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical college hospital said that they have been in queue since the morning and they are eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible.
Volunteer nurses in the hospitals all around the country have seen a significant growth in the number of people coming for jabs. They believe that the alarming statistics of Covid-19 in recent days along with the surety of available vaccines has caused this.
Rasel Ahmed, a middle-aged man in the queue said, “The situation of Covid is critical in the country now. Hundreds of people are dying on a daily basis. Thousands are getting infected every day. So, it is important to stay safe being vaccinated.”
While talking to this correspondent, another group of people shared that the lockdown imposed does not have much significant effect because it becomes hard for everyone to comply with it.
“Everyone has to work and get out in order to survive. In such cases, the lockdown does not prove to be effective in containing the crisis. Vaccination is the real hope,” they said.
Many believe that the vaccine has caused side effects and hormonal irregularities. Others believe that the vaccines are not effective. Trust issues regarding the brands have also clouded the thoughts of many.
Aminur Rahman, a businessman aged 40, told this correspondent that he is not willing to take the vaccines available at the moment.
“I am waiting for the vaccine that will come from Russia. I have studied regarding it on the internet and it seemed convincing,” he said.
Many people who have already received the first dose are skeptical about different brand they are getting for the second dose.
“With so many vaccines in different stations, how will I know which one I am getting. I do not know if getting a different vaccine dose in my second term would be harmful or not,” said Omar Farukh, who received his first dose late in April.
According to the reports of Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), Bangladesh has succeeded in bringing 4.6 pc of the total population under vaccination already. However, other Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka (3.9 percent), India (3.8 percent), Thailand (3 percent) or Vietnam (0.1 percent) are behind Bangladesh.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh received 4.5 million doses of Covid19 vaccines. 2.5 million Moderna doses arrived from the United States as a 'gift' under the WHO and Gavi's Covax mechanism and the rest were from China's Sinopharm under the commercial purchase deal.
In the parliament recently, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured that the country will have no more problems with the Covid-19 vaccine supply.
She said, "Vaccines have started coming; more will come. 80% of the public will be vaccinated free of cost," she said on Saturday.”
She further said that vaccines are the top priority and will be managed at any cost.
At the time, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen also reassured that the PM has set aside adequate funds in order to purchase vaccines.
On Tuesday, the minister further indicated that Bangladesh will soon receive a large amount of vaccine doses from various sources, including the ones that will come under the Covax facility.
The Bangladesh Mission in Geneva has conveyed that Bangladesh is set to receive three million doses of Moderna vaccine under the Covax facility and the shipment is ready.
Bangladesh began the vaccination campaign in February with Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India. However, the supply halted due to rising cases in India.