Children Aged 12-17: DGHS preparing for vaccination

Once the Directorate General of Health Services completes preparations, the education ministry will decide when, where and how children aged between 12 and 17 will be inoculated against Covid-19, DGHS Additional Director General Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora said yesterday.

The health directorate has been taking preparations in this regard, she said while inaugurating a vaccination centre for Jahangirnagar University on the campus yesterday, reported our JU correspondent.

"The World Health Organization has approved only one vaccine for children aged 12-17 years and we have the stock of that vaccine. We are preparing for its administration," she told journalists after the inauguration.

Replying to a question on the vaccination target, she said around 20 percent of the country's total population received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccines. The current target is to vaccinate 80 percent of the population.

According to DGHS data, around 11 percent of the population were jabbed with both doses.

"The World Health Organization has not approved any third dose of vaccines yet. If it approves that, Bangladesh will follow the procedures," Sabrina said.

She urged those with no NID cards or birth certificates to collect any of the identification documents to take the shots. "Vaccine recipients are given certificates and that is why the NID card is necessary. The registration process was designed that way."

The DGHS has, meanwhile, reported that 11 people died from Covid in 24 hours preceding 8:00am yesterday. With this, the death toll in the country rose to 27,699 and the death rate stood at 1.77 percent.

In those 24 hours, another 599 infections were recorded, taking the total number of cases to 15,62,958. Against 23,193 samples tested during the 24-hour period, the positivity rate was 2.58 percent, shows DGHS data.

At least 634 Covid patients recovered during that period, taking the number of recoveries to 15,24,467. The recovery rate was 97.53 percent.

Among the 11 deceased, two were men and nine were women.