1.67cr people to get vaccine on a priority basis: PM tells House

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday informed the parliament that about 1.67 crore people, from around 20 different sectors of the country, will receive Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis.

"In the first phase, 1.50 crore people, which is 8.68 percent of the country's population, will be vaccinated. They will receive two vaccine shots in the span of two weeks," Hasina said.

All three crore doses of the vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) will be delivered to Bangladesh within six months, she said.

She made the comments while answering a query of a lawmaker. The PM's answer was tabled at the beginning of the day's sitting at the House.

The prime minister said the groups to be vaccinated on a priority basis were identified as per the guidelines from the World Health Organization's Scientific Advisory Group of Experts, and the situation in the country.

A total of 4,52,027 frontline government health workers will be in the priority list, she said.

Besides, a total of 6,00,000 non-government health workers, 2,10,000 freedom fighters, 5,46,620 frontline law enforcers, 3,60,913 military and civil defense forces, 50,000 government officials essential to run the administration, 50,000 frontline media workers, 178,298 elected representatives, 150,000 staff members of city corporations and municipalities will be on the priority list.

Hasina also said that 5,41,000 religious representatives, 75,000 people involved in funeral services, 4,00,000 emergency service providers for water, electricity, fire service and others, 1,50,000 staffers of air, land and sea ports, 1,20,000 unskilled expatriate workers, 4,00,000 field level government officials, 1,97,621 bankers, 6,25,000 low immunity people (tuberculosis, AIDS and cancer patients), 1,03,26,658 people aged between 64 and 79 years, 13,12,973 people aged over 80 years, and 21,863 players of the football, cricket and hockey national teams and others, will be on the list also.

Besides vaccine will be kept for 170,000 people for buffer, emergency and outbreaks. 

Bangladesh would get 6.80 crore doses of vaccine for 3.40 crore people, from the World Health Organization's COVAX facility. The vaccine will be preserved in 64 district EPI stores and 483 EPI stores of the country, said the prime minister.

Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the pilot vaccination virtually yesterday.

Bangladesh purchased 3 crore doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum Institute of India (SII). The first consignment of 50 lakh arrived on January 25. Bangladesh also received 20 lakh doses of the Oxford vaccine produced in SII as gift from the Indian government on January 21.

DEV PARTNERS DISBURSED $1.5 BILLION TO TACKLE COVID-19

Hasina also said development partners and different entities of the United Nations have already disbursed around $1.5 billion to Bangladesh in order to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PM said there are possibilities of getting another $1.9 billion from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and France to face the crisis and for buying vaccines.

"Bangladesh has received enough response from the development partners to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic crisis," Hasina said.

She said that multilateral development banks and different entities of the United Nations had promised to give $1.817 billion. Of that, $1.640 billion was as loan and rest was as grant.

Of the promised amount, they have disbursed $1.520 billion, she added.