ED: Getting back on track with vaccination

It is extremely reassuring to learn that, nearly two months since vaccination for Covid-19 was halted as a result of a shortage of doses on April 25, the nationwide vaccination campaign is set to resume on June 19.

This news could not have come at a better time; Covid cases have been slowly on the rise again in Bangladesh, with some border districts reporting alarming infection rates, and the last thing the country needs is for its health care sector to be overwhelmed once again.

The stoppage of the vaccination process came at a particularly bad time; for all sense and purpose, the measures taken in Bangladesh to vaccinate the population was a success, and rightfully earned credit for its smoothness and efficiency. We must, therefore, strive to get back to that efficient and smooth administering of the vaccine once again.

At this juncture, it is important now for the authorities concerned and all relevant stakeholders to learn from the previous experience, and why we ended up with a shortage of vaccine doses in the first place.

Procuring vaccines from just one source was always a risky decision, and while it is unfortunate that India’s deteriorating situation caused us to be deprived of the vaccine doses we had purchased, these are the sort of events that can arise during the midst of a global pandemic, and one that our leaders must be mindful of when making decisions.

Moving forward, diversifying our sources for vaccine procurement must remain a priority; we do not want to experience another shortage of vaccines, and yet another stoppage to the vaccine administration process.