The government is considering a “no vaccine, no service” campaign as there is a reluctance among people to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque made the statement at a press briefing after the inter-ministerial meeting held over the new Omicron variant of Coronavirus.
“100 million doses of vaccine have already been administered. Of these, six crore people have been jabbed with singles dose and four crore with double dose. We went to community clinics to vaccinate school children, slum dwellers and people of all walks of life. We have also provided Pfizer vaccine in different districts and upazilas. Yet many have not yet been vaccinated,” he said.
He further said, “We have made a decision that everyone in the meeting has agreed to. Previously the slogan was 'no mask, no service'; now are considering implementing 'no vaccine, no service'. If we can do this, our vaccination campaign will be accelerated and more people will be vaccinated.”
When asked about how it would be implemented, the minister said that all the ministries will be informed through letters.
“They will enforce it according to their way. At the target level we will inform the business organizations” he added.
Regarding the instructions issued to combat the Omicron variant, he said, “We have given directions to increase monitoring at the border areas of the country and to reduce flights with South African countries.”
He further said that anyone staying in South African countries is being discouraged to come to Bangladesh at this moment to prevent the risk of another Covid-19 wave.
