The government started administering the fourth dose (second booster) of Covid-19 vaccine today. Professor Dr Ahmedul Kabir, additional director general (ADG) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), inaugurated the campaign at 9:30 am at Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka. The government has taken the initiative to administer a fourth dose against Covid-19 as the antibody from the vaccine doesn't last long, said Ahmedul Kabir. “Our aim is to vaccinate 80 lakh people in five categories at the moment though four crore people are eligible to receive the fourth dose in the country. Already 460 people have received the fourth dose on a trial basis,” he said. Read More: 4th dose of Covid vaccine to be administered from Dec 20 The priority will be given to frontline workers and pregnant women, he added. Dr Shamshul Haque, DGHS director of the vaccine campaign, said 15 crore people got the first dose, 12 crore the second dose, and 6.5 crore the third dose of vaccine against Covid-19. “Still there are 1.33 lakh doses of vaccine in stock and will bring more after administering those. There are 11.5 crore people aged above 18 years and all will get vaccinated with the second booster dose in phases,” he added. According to an earlier announcement, the fourth dose will be given at seven centers in the beginning. One hundred people will be vaccinated at each designated centre and they will be kept under observation for two weeks, said the ADG. All citizens having health risks will be vaccinated with the second booster dose from January 1 next year. Read More: Citizens aged above 60 to get 4th dose of Covid vaccine: Health Minister.

Bangladesh on Saturday kicked off a week-long booster dose campaign, aiming to inoculate over one crore people across the country. "The campaign began at 9am on Saturday. It will continue till June 10," said Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the Corona Vaccination Campaign of the Health Services Division. The government has taken this initiative to cover over one crore people though nearly four crore citizens are waiting to get the booster dose, he said. According to the Health Services Division, the booster doses will be administered in 16,181 centres across the country. Of these, 623 are permanent centres while 15,558 are temporary ones. As many as 45,535 health workers and volunteers have been roped in for the campaign, officials said. Adults who got their second dose some four months ago are eligible for the booster shot. Alongside the booster dose campaign, the regular activities of administering Covid jabs are on. READ: Booster doses to be available for citizens above 40: Minister Bangladesh Covid situation Bangladesh registered 29 new Covid cases in 24 hours till Friday morning, taking the country's total caseload to 1,953,592. The country's total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,131 as no deaths were reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS. Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with single dose of a Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses.

The government has lowered the age limit for receiving the Covid booster dose up to 50, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday. “We’ve enough vaccines in stock compared to our population,” the minister said while talking to reporters at the secretariat. So far, he said, seven lakh booster doses have been administered in Bangladesh. “In last 15 days, the positivity rate increased to 18 per cent and it’ll reach 30 per cent by a month and a half. If such a rate continues, there’ll be no seat available in any hospital.” Read: Omicron cases rise to 55 in Bangladesh The minister said the government is worried about the current Covid situation. “So, everyone must wear a mask and follow the health protocols.” He warned that the situation will worsen if people move recklessly without masks.

The Moderna vaccine instead of the Pfizer jab will be administered as the third or booster dose at all vaccine centres across the country, according to the Directorate General of Health Services’ (DGHS). The Pfizer vaccine will be stored only for the vaccination of students, aged 12-17, Dr Shamsul Haq, the director of DGHS, said in a statement on Wednesday. Read:Get vaccinated and avoid risks: Hasina tells people On December 28 last year, Bangladesh officially began the administration of booster doses of a Covid-19 vaccine but "on a limited scale". Initially, citizens aged above 60 received the booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine. However, on January 6, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said that students, aged above 12 or above, should receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to attend schools and colleges. Read:All students to be vaccinated by Jan 31: Dipu Moni In this regard, on Monday, Education Minister Dipu Moni said that all students, aged 12 or above, will be vaccinated with at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by January 31 so that they can attend schools and colleges. The campaign to vaccinate school students, aged 12-17, against Covid-19 kicked off at 12 centers in Dhaka on November 1 last year with the US-made Pfizer vaccine as it is suitable for them.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday decided they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their last dose. But the move, coming as classes restart after the holidays, isn’t the final step. A panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to decide later this week whether to recommend boosters for the younger teens with a final decision by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director. The FDA also said everyone 12 and older who's eligible for a Pfizer booster can get one as early as five months after their last dose rather than six months. FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said even though serious illness is uncommon in younger teens, a booster will help them avoid that risk — while also helping reduce the spread of omicron or any other coronavirus mutant. “Hopefully this will be not just a call for people to go get their booster shot,” but for the tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans to rethink that choice, Marks said. “It's not too late to start to get vaccinated.” Also read: FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids The FDA based its latest booster decision largely on real-world data from Israel that found no new safety concerns when 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose. Likewise, the FDA said even more data from Israel showed no problems with giving anyone eligible for a Pfizer booster that extra dose a month sooner than the six months that until now has been U.S. policy. The chief safety question for younger teens is a rare side effect called myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys who get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vast majority of cases are mild — far milder than the heart inflammation caused by COVID-19 — and they seem to peak in older teens, the 16- and 17-year-olds. Marks said the side effect occurs in about 1 in 10,000 men and boys ages 16 to 30 after their second shot — but that a third dose appears less risky, by about a third. That's probably because more time has passed before the booster than between the first two shots, he said. While the FDA didn’t consult its independent scientific advisers before making that decision, the CDC's own advisory panel is sure to closely weigh how much benefit this age group is likely to get before backing the extra shot. Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19. But health authorities are urging everyone who’s eligible to get a booster dose for their best chance at avoiding milder breakthrough infections from the highly contagious omicron mutant. Children tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults. But child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave -- most of them unvaccinated. Pediatrician and global health expert Dr. Philip Landrigan of Boston College welcomed the FDA's decisions, but stressed that the main need is to get the unvaccinated their first shots. “It is among unvaccinated people that most of the severe illness and death from COVID will occur in coming weeks,” he said in an email. "Many thousands of lives could be saved if people could persuade themselves to get vaccinated.” Also read: Pfizer asks FDA to OK COVID-19 booster shots for all adults The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only U.S. option for children of any age. About 13.5 million 12- to 17-year-olds — just over half that age group — have received two Pfizer shots, according to the CDC. For families hoping to keep their children as protected as possible, the booster age limit raised questions. The older teens, 16- and 17-year-olds, became eligible for boosters in early December. But original vaccinations opened for the younger teens, those 12 to 15, back in May. That means those first in line in the spring, potentially millions, are about as many months past their last dose as the slightly older teens. As for even younger children, kid-size doses for 5- to 11-year-olds rolled out more recently, in November -- and experts say healthy youngsters should be protected after their second dose for a while. But the FDA also said Monday that if children that young have severely weakened immune systems, they will be allowed a third dose 28 days after their second. That’s the same third-dose timing already recommended for immune-compromised teens and adults. Pfizer is studying its vaccine, in even smaller doses, for children younger than 5. What about timing of boosters for adults who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines? The FDA said it didn’t have any new data from Moderna to back a timing change and people who’d already had two Moderna shots should continue to wait six months for a booster. As for people who originally got the single-dose J&J shot, the U.S. already recommends another dose of any vaccine two months later.

Moderna said Monday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. And a full-dose booster was even stronger, triggering an 83-fold jump in antibody levels, although with an increase in the usual side effects, the company said. While half-dose shots are being used for most Moderna boosters, a full-dose third shot has been recommended for people with weakened immune systems. Also read: Omicron may sideline two leading drugs against COVID-19 Moderna announced the preliminary laboratory data in a press release and it hasn’t yet undergone scientific review. But testing by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, announced last week by Dr. Anthony Fauci, found a similar jump. Pfizer’s testing likewise found its COVID-19 vaccine triggered a similarly big jump in omicron-fighting antibodies. The vaccines made by Pfizer and by Moderna, both made with mRNA technology, are used by many countries around the world to fight the coronavirus. Also read: WHO: Omicron detected in 89 countries, cases doubling fast

Covid-19 booster doses will be administered to health workers on trial basis from Sunday, said Dr Abu Hossain Md Mainul Ahsan, the Civil Surgeon of Dhaka district. “Initially, the booster doses will be administered on a low scale as a caution. After observing the effects of the vaccine for a few days, it’ll be rolled out for others,” Dr Mainul Ahsan told journalists on Saturday in a virtual briefing. Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said the booster doses will be rolled out from the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) at city’s Mohakhali from Sunday morning. Dr Mainul Ahsan said, “Following the health minister’s directive, we’re ready to start administering the shots from tomorrow. There’ll be no shortage of jabs.” Also read: Booster doses to be rolled out on trial basis from Sunday: Health Minister Dr Ahsan went on saying, “Initially, doctors, nurses and health workers will get the doses, and senior citizens will get it in next phase, keeping their comorbidities in mind.” said the Civil Surgeon.

The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommended booster shots to the citizens above 60 and frontliners. The senior citizens and frontliners who got the two doses of vaccine six months ago will get the booster dose, the NTAC recommended at a meeting on Sunday. The committee also expressed deep concern over the emergence of the new coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’. It also suggested all to take steps to limit public gatherings, meetings and rallies to contain the spread of Omicron. Also read: Booster dose in Bangladesh: Authorities asked to work on a precise guideline In emergency cases, the committee said, online meetings could be arranged instead of in-presence meetings. The committee also recommended strengthening screening, quarantine and isolation at all entry points of the country.

The Cabinet on Monday directed the authorities concerned, particularly the Health Minister and the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, to work on a precise guideline over the campaign of booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh. The directive came from a virtual meeting of the Cabinet in the wake of the rapidly transmissible variant ‘Omicron’ in different parts of the world. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting, joining it from her official residence Ganobhaban. The other ministers and officials concerned were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat. “The technical committee and the Health Minister were instructed so that they remain ready for whether the booster dose would be given free or on payment and place a guideline following discussions,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters at the Secretariat after the meeting. He said the Cabinet asked all to remain careful about Omicron as the new Covid-19 strain is spreading rapidly in the world. “The Prime Minister repeatedly directed that we’ve to be very careful,” said the Cabinet Secretary. He said the PM also instructed earlier the technical committee to work on a precise guideline over when the booster dose campaign needs to be started. Since the world renowned scientists recommended booster doses to stay safe from Covid-19, the meeting asked all to keep focus on how the booster doses can be rolled out in Bangladesh, he said. Mentioning that two people were detected with Omicron in Bangladesh, Anwarul Islam said both of them are men of Bangladesh Cricket Board, who entered the bio-secure bubble at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon, directly from the Airport. The duo did not come in close contact with anyone at the airport and their family members and any others, he said. He said he has got a complete protocol over Omicron from his close friends and his spouse who are senior consultants in South Africa. In the protocol, they said the variant spreads rapidly and its effect is not as dangerous as that of Delta strain, said the Cabinet Secretary. Also read: Govt decides to administer Covid booster dose to above-60 citizens

Serum Institute of India has sought from India's drug regulator approval for Covishield as a booster dose citing adequate stock of the vaccine in the country and a demand for a booster shot due to the emergence of new coronavirus variants, reported The Economic Times quoting official sources. In an application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII) cited that the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has already approved the booster dose of AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, they said. Singh is learnt to have said in the application that as the world continues to face the pandemic situation, many countries have started administering booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines. "People of our country as well as citizens of other countries who have already been fully vaccinated with two doses of Covishield are also continuously requesting our firm for booster dose," an official source quoted Singh as having said in the application on Tuesday. Also read: Govt decides to administer Covid booster dose to above-60 citizens "You are aware that now there is no shortage of Covishield in our country and the demand for a booster dose is increasing day by day from the people who have already taken two doses in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of new strains." It is the need of the hour and a matter of right to health of every individual that they should not be deprived of third dose/booster dose to protect themselves in this pandemic situation, Singh stated. The Union government has informed Parliament that the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 are deliberating and considering scientific evidence for the need and justification for a booster dose. Also read: Nasal vaccine booster dose may be used with Covaxin Recently, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh have urged the Centre to decide on allowing booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine diseased amid concerns raised by 'Omicron', the new variant of SARS-CoV-2. The Delhi High Court on November 25 directed the Centre to clarify its stand on administering booster doses to those who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus, saying it does not want a second-wave-like situation on account of being conservative.