Citizens aged above 60 to get 4th dose of Covid vaccine: Health Minister

Citizens aged above 60 will get the fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday.

Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina approved it and people can get vaccinated during the ongoing seven-day campaign from any centre, the minister told reporters at the Secretariat.

Around 98 percent of the adult people have jabbed against the Covid-19, he said. “Besides, students are also being administered with the vaccine.”

So far, 14 crore people have been vaccinated with the first dose while more than 12 crore people with the second dose and six crore with the booster dose against Covid-19, he added.

Earlier, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommended administering the fourth dose of Covid vaccine to contain the further spread of the virus, said Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the vaccination program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), on November 30.

It recommended bringing front liners, citizens aged above 60 and the pregnant women under the fourth dose vaccination progamme in the first phase, he said.

The seven-day special vaccination campaign against Covid-19 was launched on December 1 that will end December 7.

Around 90 lakh people will be vaccinated under this campaign where 17,116 teams will provide the service.