DHAKA, – The nationwide mass vaccination campaign began today with a target to inoculate 75 lakh people on the occasion of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday. “The mass vaccination campaign started from 9am and it will continue till the target is fulfilled,” Director General of Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam told BSS.

“Nearly 2.5 crore people, who got them registered, are waiting for receiving COVID-19 vaccines… among the registered people, we have targeted to inoculate 75 lakh people,” he added. Registration is mandatory to receive coronavirus vaccines during the day- long vaccination campaign, Alam said, adding, “Roughly five lakh people arebeing vaccinated daily… meaning nearly 80 lakh people will be immunized today.”

The day-long vaccination campaign may be extended, if the vaccination drive is hampered in any remote or hard-to-reach areas due to rough weather, the DGHS chief added. During the campaign, people will receive the first dose of coronavirus vaccine and they will be given the second dose of inoculation on October 28, he added.

The DGHS sources said people aged 25 and above will be vaccinated today. The government has prepared 80 thousand health workers including 48,059 volunteers to make the countrywide vaccination campaign a success, he added. Bangladesh has been lauded globally to control COVID-19 pandemic as the country has intensified its multiple efforts including vaccination and improving healthcare system to stop the spread of the deadly virus. As of September 27, a total of 2,48,80,894 people received first shot and 1,64,99,866 exhausted the course getting the second dose of the inoculate.

The number of people who got them registered so far is 4,819,503, the DGHS sources said. According to the health ministry, the government has decided to purchase 16.5 crore more COVID-19 vaccines from China and other countries to expedite the countrywide vaccination campaign. Bangladesh set a target to vaccinate the country’s 80 percent population by 2022 under an accelerated inoculation campaign, expecting receipt of required COVID-19 jabs within estimated timeline, it added. Bangladesh has so far approved eight COVID-19 vaccines to control the deadly disease. The approved COVID-19 vaccines are from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, CoronaVac, Pfizer, Covishield, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.