Mass inoculation plan changed due to vaccine, manpower crises

The mass vaccination campaign, previously slated for six days, will now be held in one day only on 7 August.
The government has changed its plan for mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign, scheduled for 7-12 August, citing manpower and vaccine shortages.
"The inoculation will instead be held on 7 August only. Then it will resume under a new campaign after seven days gap," Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Director General Professor ABM Khurshid Alam confirmed The Business Standard on Thursday.
"The nationwide mass vaccination programme is likely to resume again from 14 August," he added.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the government on Wednesday.
On 7 August the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be given in one session in 15,287 wards across unions, municipalities and city corporations.
He also noted that the ongoing vaccination procedures will continue.
Bangladesh resumed its mass vaccination drive on 1 July through the doses of Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines after a pause of over two months.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the vaccine supply remains steady and there will be no problem getting adequate vaccine doses.
Multiple consignments of Sinopharm and Oxford vaccines reached Bangladesh from China and Japan over the last few weeks. However, experts had warned that maintaining a steady supply of vaccines might become a challenge for the authorities.