18-year-olds can sign up for Covid vaccine from Aug 8

People aged 18 years or above will be able to register for Covid-19 jabs as the government has decided to further lower the vaccine cut-off age to bolster the nationwide drive.

Bangladesh earlier lowered the vaccination age limit to 25 years on Thursday.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said: “The date [August 8] was fixed following the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, which suggested a 10-day interval before lowering the limit.”

In another development, as the government takes the Covid-19 vaccination drive to the grassroots, people will be able to take the jabs at their nearby educational institutions, family welfare centers and community clinics from August 7.

According to the health directorate, inoculations at ward and union levels will begin on August 7, for a maximum of three days a week, subject to population size.

In these places, the elderly and women will receive vaccine doses from 9 am to 12 noon and others will get them from 12 noon to 3 pm. The elderly and women will be prioritized even if they arrive after their designated time slots. 

The recipients can opt for on-the-spot registration as well instead of signing up online, and will be provided with vaccine cards, which they will have to show before receiving the second dose.

Medical officers of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chittagong, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions received basic training on vaccination online on Thursday, while officials of Khulna, Rajshahi and Barisal are scheduled for training on Sunday.

In turn, they will train the field officials concerned from Sunday onwards. 

A general plan and necessary instructions have already been sent to the health authorities at the grassroots level.

“We have sent a plan and it will be fine-tuned later,” DGHS Line Director Dr Md Shamsul Haque said.

The grassroots-level vaccination drive will start from all “old Ward No 1s” of each municipality and union and expand gradually.

Government officials and public representatives and religious social and religious leaders will decide on the vaccination centres in their respective areas and monitor the inoculation activities.

The focal persons of the centres will tend to a recipient if he/she shows side effects after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

Saturdays and Mondays will exclusively be assigned for the Expanded Program on Immunization (vaccines for polio, measles, etc). The Covid-19 vaccine will be administered on other days of the week for 2-3 days, except the weekly holiday Friday.