Covid-19 vaccines to be administered widely from July: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today told the parliament that the government will procure Covid-19 vaccines at whatever cost, and the vaccines will be administered widely from next month.

Saying that the crisis regarding vaccine was over, the Leader of the House said, "We were temporarily in trouble as India stopped exporting vaccines. But by the grace of God, we have resolved the problem… We are communicating with all vaccine producers, including China, Russia, and the United States."

The premier said that her government has already collected 1.14 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine from different sources. "I hope more vaccines will come from July. We will start administering vaccines widely from July."

Hasina said the government has undertaken a plan to vaccinate 80 percent people of the country in phases.

She said this while participating in a general discussion on the proposed budget for the 2021-22 fiscal at the Jatiya Sangsad.

Sheikh Hasina said, "There is a limit regarding the age at which vaccine can be given. We are making arrangements so that everyone, starting from school students, gets the vaccine. We will take measures to open educational institutions through this."

She said, "We have announced to give free vaccine to all citizens of the country. We will spend whatever is needed to collect the vaccines."

"We have allocated Tk 14,200 crore in the budget for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines," he said.

She said steps have been taken to vaccinate the outbound migrant workers on a priority basis so that they do not need to stay in quarantine after going to their workplaces abroad.

Mentioning that the health sector has been given top priority, the PM said, "Last year we had successfully tackled the first wave of Covid-19. We have taken effective actions quickly in line with that experience. Insha'Allah we will be able to protect public health and lives through tackling this pandemic."

She said, "Despite the effects of the second wave of the pandemic, our economy is on the path to a full recovery. Our government is standing by the people of the country in this time of crisis. I promise that we will take decisions immediately if it's necessary to take any step to protect their livelihood and for economic recovery. We will stand by the people."