While the government must be lauded for recognizing the urgency of the matter, just yesterday, this newspaper editorialized and questioned the viability of this intent, given the pace at which Bangladesh had vaccinated its citizens so far, and the numerous challenges our vaccine administration process had already faced, including registration being halted for months following a shortage of jabs. To that end, the walk-in Covid-19 vaccination campaign for anyone 18 years of age or above at city corporation and municipality level across the country, that is set to begin from Saturday, August 7, should go a long way to help meet that weekly target. However, we have seen vaccine shortages put a sudden halt to vaccination, and while Bangladesh has since learned its lesson and is now procuring vaccines from multiple sources, given its ambitious targets, it must continue to pro-actively procure vaccines so that there are no future stoppages to the vaccination process. Furthermore, it is vital that this campaign is executed properly -- the vaccine administration has for the most part been a smooth process, and there is the risk that, now that anyone can walk in to receive a jab, the centres can devolve into chaos, with no social distancing and safety regulations maintained. Thus, as Bangladesh looks to ramp up its vaccination efforts, and as we look to hit weekly numbers of vaccine administration we have not yet come close to hitting, the authorities concerned must also ensure that the system does not fall apart, and that citizens are able to receive their jabs with no hassle or danger.

Source: Dhaka Tribune August 04, 2021 18:00 UTC