Mass vaccination resumes on first day of lockdown

The mass vaccination programme resumed across the country on Thursday, the same day the country entered into a strict lockdown – both intended to contain the third wave of the ongoing Covid pandemic.

This time, the Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines are being administered, and on the first day 684 people were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and 3,436 with the Sinopharm doses.

Vaccination activities were carried out in all medical college hospitals, district hospitals, sadar hospitals and 250-bed hospitals from 8am to 3pm on Thursday.

The Pfizer vaccine was given at seven centres in the capital.

Dr Shamsul Haque, secretary-general of Covid-19 Vaccine Management Taskforce Committee, said people went to designated centres with the vaccine card amid lockdown and got vaccinated.

Mass vaccination in Bangladesh began on 7 February with the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine. But later, the programme was postponed on 25 April due to a vaccine crisis. At that time, only the second dose of vaccine was being given.

After two months and seven days, the Directorate General of Health Services resumed mass vaccinations on Wednesday after the recent arrival of 1 million doses of China's Sinopharm as a gift and 1,06,000 doses of Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.

45 lakh Moderna, Sinopharm doses due in two days

Health Minister Zahid Malek said that 45 lakh doses of Moderna and Sinopharm vaccines will arrive in the country on Friday and Saturday.

He said this in a video message on Thursday afternoon.

Malek said 12 lakh Moderna vaccines would arrive at Shahjalal International Airport at 11:30pm on Friday. On the same night, around 12am, 11 lakh Sinopharm vaccines will arrive. In addition, on Saturday, another 13 lakh Moderna vaccines will arrive at 8:30pm and another 9 lakh Sinopharm vaccines will arrive at 5am.

Migrant workers to get vaccine from Tuesday

Expatriate workers will get the vaccine on priority basis from next Tuesday. The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) has sent a list of about two lakh expatriate workers to the DGHS. People on this list will receive vaccine related SMS on Monday night, said Dr Shamsul Haque at an emergency online press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier, the expatriates staged a protest at the Kurmitola General Hospital in the capital on Thursday, demanding to be vaccinated.

Dr Shamsul Haque said migrant workers need to register with the BMET and then through Surokkha app to get the vaccine. The BMET has launched an app for expatriate workers called "I am expatriate". They can also register from here. Besides, expatriate workers can register by visiting the BMET office in each district. There is also an opportunity to register in Dhaka. Once the registration list from the district comes to the health ministry, they will have the opportunity to register in the Surokkha app.

He said the ICT ministry would prepare a final list and send an SMS accordingly containing the name of the vaccination centre.

Dr Haque said, "Without SMS or vaccination card none will get the vaccine at the centre. This issue needs to be noted very well. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait do not allow entry without a Pfizer or Mordana vaccine certificate, so workers going to those two countries will receive Pfizer vaccines. In other countries where there is no problem if vaccinated with Sinopharm, the expatriate workers destined to those countries will get the Sinopharm vaccine."

The BMET offices will be open on Fridays and Saturdays also during the lockdown, he said, adding that expatriates going abroad can go to the offices and register on an emergency basis.

Two doses protect against Delta variant, EMA data suggests

Two doses of Covid vaccine appear to provide protection against the rapidly spreading Delta variant, the European Medicines Agency said Thursday.

The upbeat assessment came as the World Health Organization warned that the coronavirus variant first spotted in India could fuel a new wave of cases in Europe, reports NDTV, citing the Agence France-Presse.

The EMA's head of vaccine strategy, Marco Cavaleri, said the Amsterdam-based watchdog was aware of concerns caused by the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

"Right now it seems that the four vaccines approved in the European Union are protecting against all the strains circulating in Europe, including the Delta variant," he said.

"Emerging data from real world evidence are showing that two doses of vaccines are protective against the Delta variant."