The Bangladeshi government’s withdrawal from a special Covid-19 mass vaccination program over a shortage of jabs has triggered criticism in various quarters including from Catholic officials.
The government had planned to distribute 10 million vaccine doses nationwide, mostly in rural communities, from Aug. 7-17.
However, a senior government official told the Daily Star newspaper on Aug. 5 that the vaccination drive had been cut short to just one day, Aug. 7, due to a shortage of jabs.
Professor Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, head of the state-run Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told reporters in Dhaka that despite the setback the regular vaccination program will continue and the government plans to launch a mass vaccination drive from Aug. 14 following the experimental mass vaccination on Aug. 7.
Lily A. Gomes, secretary of the healthcare commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, said the government decision is disappointing as church groups had planned to join the campaign to encourage people to get vaccines.
“The government’s U-turn creates a kind of mistrust and suspicion among the people. Already some people holds superstitious views about vaccines. It will just get worse,” Gomes told UCA News.
There was a campaign in the villages that from Aug. 7 everyone would get vaccinated from their areas but this sudden decision will erode enthusiasm
She said the government should have been more responsible instead of suddenly deciding and announcing a plan about a mass vaccination campaign without thinking about manpower, supply of vaccines and capacity.
Church groups including Catholic charity Caritas have been involved in raising awareness about vaccines and continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, she said, adding that churches were even ready to make announcements to ask the faithful to line up in local vaccination centers.
Father Bablu Lawrence Sarker, administrator of church-run Fatima Hospital in Jessore district in southwest Bangladesh, noted that the government’s change of plan over mass vaccination has created unease among people.
“There was a campaign in the villages that from Aug. 7 everyone would get vaccinated from their areas but this sudden decision of the government will erode enthusiasm. The government should have taken a decision after considering all aspects,” Father Saker told UCA News.
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Bishownath Biswas, 28, a Catholic private job holder from Rajshahi city in northern Bangladesh, said people were frustrated over the curtailing of the mass vaccination drive.
“My elderly parents live in a village and I told them to to take this opportunity to get vaccinated. Now they and other people in the village are confused and shocked,” Biswas, 28, told UCA News.
Rafiq Ahmed, 26, a Muslim stationery shopkeeper from Pabna district, also expressed disappointment.
“I was happy to hear there would be vaccination in our union [local government unit] for seven days. I wanted to register but didn’t as vaccines will be given on just one day. I think it is risky for me as there will be a huge crowd on the day,” Ahmed told UCA News.
The country is under an extended lockdown with strict restrictions on transport, gathering and movement
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian nation of more than 160 million, has been reeling from the outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in recent weeks. The country is under an extended lockdown with strict restrictions on transport, gathering and movement.
Government data shows 1.32 million cases of infections and 21,902 deaths from Covid-19. The DGHS reported 264 deaths on Aug. 5, the highest since the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Bangladesh in March last year.
About 14.1 million doses of vaccines have been distributed and about 4.39 million people or 2.7 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.
According to the DGHS, the government had an estimated stock of 10.07 million doses of vaccines including 1.7 million jabs of AstraZeneca-Covishield, 4.6 million doses of Sinopharm, 4.4 million doses of Moderna and 49,000 Pfizer vaccines as of Aug. 5.
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