Covid Vaccination

Photo: Collected Health Minister addressing newly appointed doctors

Bangladesh sets new record in COVID vaccination with administering 12 million doses in a day

Speaking as the chief guest at an orientation workshop for about 4,000 newly appointed doctors at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital on Sunday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said, "We had a target of administering one crore doses of corona vaccine in one day. But at the end of the day, we were able to administer 1 crore 11 lakh first doses and 9 lakh second doses. This is undoubtedly a record in the world."

The Health Minister said, "Even before this, we were able to vaccinate 80 lakh doses in a single day. More than one lakh of our staff are working to make this drive a success. Most countries in the world do not have 10 million people. The ability to vaccinate 10 million people a day has made us the first in South Asia to deal with corona and 10th in the world. We have been able to give the vaccine to the people of the country. In this, we have been able to cover about 73 percent of the total population of the country and almost 100 percent of our target."

The Health Minister instructed the newly appointed doctors present at the programme to perform their duties properly by joining their respective posting areas.

Addressing the doctors, the Health Minister said, "Earlier there were only 18,000 doctors in the country. But in the last five years, Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina has appointed 15,000 new doctors. Earlier, there were only 20,000 nurses in the country. But, in the last 5 years, 20,000 new nurses have been recruited and many more nurses, doctors and technologists will be recruited in coming days."

He said, "The government hired you to provide good treatment. You will go to your workplace and serve the helpless, poor people. The government will increase all kinds of facilities including housing facilities for you."