A second round of special measles vaccination will begin nationwide from September 25 to combat the ongoing outbreak, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has said.
He said most of the vaccine doses for the campaign have arrived in the country through UNICEF, with the remaining doses expected to arrive by September 17.
He made the comments speaking to journalists Thursday (September 10) afternoon, following a seminar marking World Suicide Prevention Day, organised by the Association for Disabled People (ADP) and Rotary Club Ahsan Manzil at the University Women’s Federation in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. The health minister said that with measles infections continuing even after the vaccination campaign ended, the government carried out a mop-up campaign, under which 1.4 million more children were newly vaccinated against measles.
He said the previous government left no vaccine stock in the country. Under these circumstances, the current government procured vaccines for 18.5 million children and completed the vaccination drive in just 21 days. On the dengue situation, he said healthcare services at grassroots-level hospitals have been strengthened to ease the patient burden on Dhaka hospitals. Isolation beds have been kept ready at every hospital, and mobile hospital arrangements have also been put in place. Alongside ensuring necessary treatment for patients at the upazila level, coordination and necessary guidance are being provided to upazila-level doctors through the Society of Medicine to ease pressure on tertiary hospitals.