1 lakh people can be tested every day with Antigen test: Dr ABM Abdullah

A webinar with renowned medicine specialist and physician Dr ABM Abdullah, organised by Eminence Associates for Social Development was held on Friday.

Professor Dr Abdullah and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eminence, Dr Shamim Talukder talked on the topic 'May We Need to Live with Covid-19!' in the webinar.

Dr Abdullah expressed concern about the increasing rate of Coronavirus infection around the world. He suspected that the real number of infections in Bangladesh may be four to five times higher than the projected number, according to a press release.

Dr Abdullah said, "Coronavirus testing should be made easy. We should introduce the Antigen Test. It is easier, cost efficient and we can test 100,000 people every day."

He said that if such a number of tests can be done every day, the actual possible rate of infection will be known and necessary measures can be taken to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

"When the infection rate reduces to 5% or less, then we can say we are heading towards normalcy, and reopening educational institutions would be appropriate then", he added.

Dr Abdullah also talked about vaccination strategies in the webinar. He thinks the government of Bangladesh should start lobbing with the international leadership to get the vaccine as early as possible, the press release said.

"We need infrastructure, human resources, planning, coordination between administration and the people before getting the vaccine. I believe the vaccine should be provided to health workers, media workers, police and army at first, and then provided to others on a priority basis", He further said.

Dr Abdullah also recommended holding talks with WHO for enrolling Bangladesh into free vaccination programmes.

He put emphasis on research as a part of reshaping the health sector of Bangladesh to cope with the post-pandemic world, the press release further said.

The professor said, "Research is a must for mitigating the threats not only of Coronavirus but also of other diseases. Our health workers are efficient and brilliant. They can do incredible things not only for Bangladesh but also for the globe."

While talking about the role of the media in the Covid-19 situation, Dr Abdullah said, "All over the world, the media did an incredible job regarding building awareness among people."

Dr Abdullah urged the people to take safety measures and said, "Taking safety measures is the responsibility of this historical moment."