Bangladesh on Sunday launched its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, with the inoculation of 31,160 people amid lukewarm responses from people.

The vaccination campaign kicked off 336 days after the first three coronavirus cases were detected in the country on March 8 last year.

Health minister Zahid Maleque virtually inaugurated the vaccination drive at the Directorate General of Health Services in the capital’s Mohakhali at 10:00am before he took the jab at Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital.

‘This is a day of joy for us…We’ve waited for this day for long to find an effective way to fight COVID-19,’ the minister said, urging people to take the vaccine ignoring any confusion.

The health agency in a release in the evening said that 31,160 people, including 23,857 males and 7,303 females, were vaccinated on the first day, which was far less than the daily target of 1.5 lakh people.
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Among the vaccinated, 21 persons showed mild side effects, the DGHS said without elaborating.

Among the vaccine recipients, 5,071 were in the capital.

‘People have shown a conservative attitude in getting the vaccine on the first day,’ DGHS director for disease control Nazmul Islam told New Age in the evening when asked about the reason for the low turnout.

‘Many wanted to proceed cautiously over side-effects, but I hope that more people will be encouraged to get the jab in the coming days after seeing so many dignitaries taking the vaccine on the first day,’ he added.

Without disclosing the number of people scheduled and confirmed through mobile messages to get the vaccine on the day, Nazmul said that they had the arrangement for vaccinating more than 1.5 lakh people.

Bangladesh is using the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which has been manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Each person will be given two doses of the vaccine.

After inaugurating the vaccination drive, the health minister went to the vaccination centre at Sheikh Russel National Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital at around 11:15pm to receive the shot.

‘Don’t spread rumor. It’s a safe vaccine,’ he told reporters.

He said that 70 lakh doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were in Bangladesh. ‘We have also the treatment facilities ready if anyone develops any side effects,’ he said.

The minister said that the country’s war on the coronavirus started with the detection of the first COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh on March 8, 2020.

‘We have started various initiatives to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There has been much criticism of our activities, but we have risen above those. Today, Bangladesh is in a better state than many countries. Our way of life is normal,’ he said.

Agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque, fisheries and livestock minister SM Rezaul Karim, science and technology minister Yeafesh Osman, state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain, DGHS director general ABM Khurshid Alam, Bangladesh Medical Association president Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin and Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad president Iqbal Arsalan were also vaccinated there.

Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain took the vaccine at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.