2nd phase of mass vaccination begins

The health authorities began administering the second dose of coronavirus vaccine across the country on Thursday under the mass vaccination campaign.

The campaign which started around 9am will continue till 3pm without any break, Md Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the Covid-19 vaccine management taskforce, said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Bangladesh vaccinated 75 lakh people in a single day on September 28 under a mass vaccination campaign marking the birth anniversary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The first dose recipients will be given their second jab during the campaign.

The health authorities have taken all sorts of preparations to conduct the campaign smoothly. People have been calling upon by loudspeakers to receive their second jabs, Shamsul Haque said.

Required amounts of vaccines with logistic support have already been sent to the respective vaccination centres across the country, he said.

Covid-19 claimed seven more lives and infected 306 people in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours till Wednesday morning, showing an increasing trend in infection of the virus compared to the previous day.

Bangladesh saw six coronavirus related deaths and 276 new cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning with infection rate 1.44.

The case positivity rate increased slightly to 1.53 percent, recovery rate stood at 97.70 percent while the daily mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent, according the according to the Directorate General of the Health services (DGHS).

With the fresh numbers, the Covid fatalities stood at 27,841 while the caseload climbed to 15,68,563, said the DGHS.