A wake-up call for those who are yet to receive their first or second Covid shots -- from December, only the booster dose will be administered in Bangladesh. “The first or the second dose of Covid vaccines will not be available in Bangladesh after November, as by then the existing stock will expire. Also, the possibility of purchasing more vaccines is little," Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the vaccine management committee of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) told UNB. Also read: 70% of Covid deaths among unvaccinated: DGHS DG “From August, we will start the campaign to vaccinate children aged between five and 11 years against Covid-19,” he added. The high-ranking DGHS official said the booster dose campaign would continue across the country, "but people are still showing reluctance to get vaccinated". According to the directorate, a significant number of people, 70 percent, who have died of Covid so far in the country were not vaccinated against the disease. Also read: Bangladesh gets another 4 mn doses of COVID-19 vaccine from US

The government will administer Covid-19 booster doses to senior citizens aged above 60, but the date for the campaign has not yet been decided, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday. “We will sit later to set the date. We have a plan to provide booster dose to those who are seriously ill,” he said while talking to reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on Covid-19 at the ministry. He said the meeting discussed measures on how to prevent Omicron, a new powerful variant of the infection, from entering the country and contain its spread. Read: Omicron: DGHS recommends enforcement of 15 instructions The minister said the government is recommending a ban on flights from African countries and discouraging travelers arriving from Africa in a move to stem the infections. “Those who still arrive will be placed under institutional quarantine under the watch of the military,” he said adding that this applies also for passengers from European countries. Vigilance along the borders will be strengthened. “Many people have come and go to our neighbouring country and we have discussed restricting public movement in bordering areas,” he said. Zahid listed a number of other measures the meeting has decided to take in tackling the virus. Deputy Commissioners will be asked to ensure that social, political and religious programmes are conducted on a limited scale. Besides, directives have been given to conduct mobile court drives to ensure the use of masks and slap fines for breaches, he said adding “Our health department has been asked to form a national monitoring cells in all districts and upazilas and take decisions instantly.” He also urged people to arrange virtual meeting instead of physical presence. No vaccine no service “We are going to introduce no vaccine, no service system because we have found some people reluctant to be jabbed,” he added. “We have brought school students, slum dwellers and people from all walks of life under vaccination programme. Our move of ‘no vaccine no service’ is to accelerate the vaccination programme so that people come forward to get the jab.” Replying to a question Zahid said “We will send letters to all ministries and they will enforce it.” Zahid said the country is now better prepared with hospital treatment of Covid patients than before. Read: NTAC recommends travel ban to contain new variant Omicron

Transplant recipients and others with severely weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines to better protect them as the Delta variant continues to surge, US regulators said Thursday. The late-night announcement by the Food and Drug Administration applies to several million Americans who are especially vulnerable because of organ transplants, certain cancers or other disorders. Several other countries, including France and Israel, have similar recommendations. It is harder for vaccines to rev up an immune system suppressed by certain medications and diseases, so those patients do not always get the same protection as otherwise healthy people – and small studies suggest for at least some, an extra dose may be the solution. "Today's action allows doctors to boost immunity in certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection from Covid-19," Dr Janet Woodcock, the FDA's acting commissioner, said. The FDA determined that transplant recipients and others with a similar level of compromised immunity can receive a third dose of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna at least 28 days after getting their second shot. The FDA made no mention of immune-compromised patients who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The announcement comes as the extra-contagious Delta version of the coronavirus surges through much of the country, pushing new cases, hospitalisations and deaths to heights not seen since last winter. Read: Why might COVID-19 vaccine boosters be necessary? However, the FDA's decision only applies to this high-risk group, estimated to be no more than 3% of US adults. It’s not an opening for booster doses for the general population. Health authorities consider the extra dose part of the initial prescription for the immune-compromised. For example, France since April has encouraged that such patients get a third dose four weeks after their regular second shot. Israel and Germany also recently began recommending a third dose of two-dose vaccines. Separately, US health officials are continuing to closely monitor if and when average people's immunity wanes enough to require boosters for everyone – but for now, the vaccines continue to offer robust protection for the general population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to formally recommend the extra shots for certain immune-compromised groups after a meeting Friday of its outside advisers. Transplant recipients and others with suppressed immune systems know they are at more risk than the average American, and some have been seeking out extra doses on their own, even if it means lying about their vaccination status. The change means now the high-risk groups can more easily get another shot – but experts caution it is not yet clear exactly who should. "This is all going to be very personalised," cautioned Dr Dorry Segev, a transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins University who is running a major National Institutes of Health study of extra shots for organ recipients. For some people, a third dose "increases their immune response. Yet for some people, it does not seem to. We do not quite know who is who yet." Read: Head of UN health agency seeks vaccine booster moratorium One recent study of more than 650 transplant recipients found just over half harboured virus-fighting antibodies after two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines – although generally less than in otherwise healthy vaccinated people. Another study of people with rheumatoid arthritis and similar autoimmune diseases found only those who use particular medications have very poor vaccine responses. There is little data on how well a third dose works, and if it causes any safety problems such as an increased risk of organ rejection. Wednesday, Canadian researchers reported that transplant recipients were more likely to have high levels of antibodies if they got a third dose than those given a dummy shot for comparison. Other small studies have similarly found that some transplant recipients respond to