Seventy-five percent of the target population have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday.
“Already 100 million doses of vaccine have been administered and 75% of people out of 120 million people have been placed on the vaccination programme,” he said during a program on the occasion of the Day of the cancer at the city’s Cancer Research Institute.
Steps have been taken to vaccinate the homeless and transport workers, he said.
“I’ve spoken to some people who are unwilling to take the Covid shots, but I want to say that most people in Bangladesh want to get vaccinated unlike people in many other countries,” Maleque said.
Mentioning that vaccines can reduce the risk of death, the health minister said that the death rate is low in the country because a large number of people have been subjected to vaccination programs. “That’s why the number of patients in hospitals is less.”
In the second wave of Covid-19, 10,000 to 12,000 people were hospitalized but some 1,000 to 1,500 people were hospitalized in the third wave of Covid, he said.
“Seventy-five percent of hospital beds are empty now, so I would ask you to take some Covid shots in your arms,” the minister said.
The number of cancer patients is increasing due to lifestyle changes, he said, adding that currently there are 2 million cancer patients and every year 0.15 million people receive diagnosed with cancer while 0.1 million people die from cancer every year in the country, he said. .
If detected at the primary stage, the cancer is curable, he added.
The government has taken a step to build eight cancer hospitals in eight divisions to ensure medical services for cancer patients, Maleque said.
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