Voicing deep concern over the uncertainty of getting vaccines by Bangladesh, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Wednesday said it is not possible to deal with a pandemic like Covid-19 with inadequate jabs coming as gifts and donations.
“Vaccines are being used worldwide as the main weapon in the fight against the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, it’s possible to return to normal life by bringing 80 percent of people under vaccination and many countries are achieving that goal,” he said.
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, came up with the remarks while unveiling the cover of a book on Jatiya Party founder HM Ershad at the party chairman’s Banani office.
He said the Health Ministry is only making the assurances of getting vaccines every day without any visible success. “Bangladesh has completely failed when it comes to vaccination diplomacy. The health minister is breathing a sigh of relief after receiving 5 to 10 lakh vaccines as gifts from different countries. But ensuring vaccines for 18 crore people is still far cry.”
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The Jatiya Party chief said frustration has gripped people as there is no credible information in the government's announcement to collect vaccines. “People want to have a clear announcement by the government about getting vaccines.”
He said the developed and underdeveloped countries have already started mass vaccination programmes by working out their roadmaps. “People in all those countries know when their vaccination programme will end. But, no one in our country knows when we’ll be able to start mass vaccination (in full swing).”
GM Quader said the government did not keep an alternative source for procuring vaccines for lack of farsightedness, though their party repeatedly advised it to do so.
He said there is no clear allocation made in the national budget for the procurement of the vaccines instead of mentioning the assurances of receiving it from some countries and organisations, but there is no progress in this regard.
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The Jatiya Party chairman said it seems the government does not have any plan to improve the health services at the upazila, district and divisional levels. “We want the government to ensure oxygen support and ICU beds in the public hospitals at the upazila, district and divisional levels. The district-level hospitals should have the facilities for all types of tests.”
He feared that the coronavirus could seriously spread across the country in absence of adequate vaccines, collapsing the medical system. “So, we’ve to systematically improve the medical system of our country. Mega projects need to be undertaken to develop the healthcare system without delay to prevent mass deaths.”