Bangladesh on Tuesday morning officially began the administration of booster doses of a Covid-19 vaccine but "on a limited scale". From 10am, a few hospitals in Dhaka started the administration of the third Covid-19 jab -- the Pfizer vaccine -- as a booster dose, Dr Shamsul Haq, the director of the Directorate General of Health Services' (DGHS) vaccination programme, told UNB. These hospitals in the capital are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Kurmitola General Hospital, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Shaikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, 250-bed TB Hospital in Shyamoli, Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Hospital and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital. Also raed: COVID-19: Boosters to be administered from Tuesday

Senior students of Government Debendra College in Manikganj formed queues at a Covid jab centre in Sadar upazila on Saturday to get a shot in the arm. Some 1,542 Class 12 students of the college are slated to get Covid jabs during the day as part of the government's ongoing drive to vaccinate school-goers of the 12-17 age group against Covid-19. Read: Uber to provide 50,000 free rides for Covid vaccine seekers in Dhaka Authorities of the local health department said that these students would get the first dose of a Covid vaccine at Health Training Center in Sadar upazila on Saturday. The vaccination drive began around 9am in four booths -- male and female separate -- set up at the centre. Besides, 14,000 more Higher Secondary Certificate examinees will be vaccinated in phases in the district. Dr Lutfur Rahman, the acting Civil Surgeon of the district, said that the Bangladesh government has set a target to vaccinate 50,000 students under the campaign. In fact, the campaign to vaccinate the school students against Covid-19 began in Dhaka on November 1. Health Minister Zahid Maleque and Education Minister Dipu Moni had jointly inaugurated the vaccination campaign at Motijheel Ideal School and College. Read: France to donate 2mn doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh: FM According to health authorities, so far, 6.23 lakh people have received the first dose in the district, while 3.42 lakh people in the district got both the doses of a Covid jab.

The government has included pregnant and lactating women in the nationwide Covid-19 inoculation programme amid a worrying rise in Covid-19 hospital admissions across the country. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a notice regarding this Sunday. Although the pregnant women are now eligible for Covid-19 vaccination, they must follow some instructions before getting jabbed, according to the DGHS. They have to take the Covid shots from government vaccination centres with medical facilities after getting counselling from a registered physician there. Mothers-to-be who are unwell, suffering from chronic illness or have a history of vaccine allergy will not be allowed to take the jabs. Read: Covid vaccine seekers overwhelm Suhrawardy Hospital; chaos all around Also, they cannot take the second dose of vaccine if an AFI case is detected among them after taking the first shot. And expectant mums will have to provide all health information to the registered doctor before getting jabbed. Also, doses cannot be administered without the signed approval of a guardian or vaccine recipient and counselling a physician. However, the lactating mothers can take a Covid shot like everyone else. Earlier, the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group recommended the government for providing Covid vaccine to both mums-to-be and lactating mothers. Read: Bangladesh to procure 6 crore Sinopharm vaccine doses: Minister Expectant mums and lactating mothers were excluded from the Covid mass vaccination programme in Bangladesh from the beginning. Earlier this year, when Covid vaccination was initiated in countries across the world mums-to-be were excluded from the programme due to a lack of safety information. Now the UK Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend Covid vaccines for expectant mums and lactating women. Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalisations, and death and with the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever, according to the CDC. "Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with Covid-19 compared with non-pregnant people. If you are pregnant, you can receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Getting a Covid-19 vaccine during pregnancy can protect you from a severe illness Covid-19," it added.