DHAKA, – Secretary of Health Service Division Abdul Mannan today said COVID-19 vaccine receivers will be given telemedicine services, if side effects are found after administering vaccines.
“No significant side effects are reported after administering COVID-19 vaccines developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca,” he told a meeting with journalists at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here, an official release said.
Secretary of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division N M Ziaul Alam and Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, among others, were present at the meeting with Chief Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Secretary Zuena Aziz, in the chair.
Mannan said, “After arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, initially, 500 to 600 medical professionals of four hospitals — Kurmitola General Hospital, Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital, Mugda Medical College and Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital — will be given these vaccines. And they will be observed for seven days.” After completing seven-day observations, other listed people will be vaccinated, he added.
In reply to a question, he said only registered hospitals and organizations by Directorate General of Drug Administration will be allowed to join the vaccination campaign. All relevant organizations of the government will strictly oversee the entire process of the campaign for stopping any unfair practices, the health secretary added.
The Foreign Ministry sources said Bangladesh will get 20 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses from Indian government as a gift tomorrow. Another consignment of 50 lakh vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India through arrangement of Beximco Pharmaceuticals will arrive here later this month, it added.
According to the DGHS, Bangladesh is going to receive the initial supply of inoculates as part of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on November 5 and a subsequent agreement on December 13 among Bangladesh government, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BPL) and the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The agreement ensures availability of three crore COVID-19 vaccine doses in phases from the Serum Institute, it added.
The government has set the stage for nationwide COVID-19 vaccine distribution from early February.
