Vaccination of students aged 12-17 begins

Covid vaccination campaign for school students, aged between 12 and 17, began on Monday morning.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque and Education Minister Dipu Moni inaugurated the campaign at Ideal School and College at Motijheel in the capital.

However, inoculation in other centres in the city will start in seven other schools on Tuesday.

Initially, the campaign will begin at eight centres in Dhaka city and it will be conducted across the country in phases.

Pfizer vaccine doses are being administered among the school children as it was approved by the World Health Organization for them.

The seven Dhaka schools where Covid-19 vaccine will be provided are — Hurdco International School, South Point School and College, Chittagong Grammar School, Mirpur Commerce School and College, Kakoli High School and College, South Breeze School, and Scholastica School in Mirpur, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.

On October 14, as many as 120 students aged between 12 and 17 were inoculated Pfizer jabs as a trial run of Covid-19 vaccination at Colonel Malek Medical College Hospital in Manikganj.

School children will be allowed to receive the vaccine shot after completing their registration through Surokkha app using birth registration certificate.

According to the health ministry, there are 70 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine in stock and 30 lakh students will be inoculated with Pfizer shots, reports UNB.

Besides, 35 lakh more doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive in the country by November.

However, the Ministry of Education has said there are almost one crore students, aged between 12 to 17, across the country.

Earlier, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said vaccination campaign for school students will begin at 12 centres in Dhaka while 21 centres in outside Dhaka from November 1.

Some 40,000 students will be vaccinated every day under the campaign, he added.