Govt won’t force anyone to get vaccinated: Health Minister

GBNEWS24 DESK//

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that none will be forced to get vaccinated in the country.

“All will be able to take vaccine at their own will freely,” he said while addressing a press conference at the health ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat in the capital on Sunday.

Zahid Maleque claimed that Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine provided by India as gift to Bangladesh is the “most tolerable and effective” in the world.

“The vaccine came to Bangladesh after test in India and the UK. This vaccine is very suitable to our weather compared to other vaccines. However, some side effects may appear whenever any vaccine is applied,” he said.

He said medical teams have been kept stand-by if any side-effects arise after injecting this vaccine to individuals. Telemedicine services have also been arranged to address any post-vaccination complicacies. So, it is not logical to refuse the vaccine against the life-threatening coronavirus infection on the pretext of mere side-effects. “But, the government will not force anybody else to take vaccine. All will be able to take vaccine according to their own will,” he said.

The Indian government gifted 20 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Bangladesh which arrived on January 20 last. The vaccine, known as ‘Covishied’ is being supplied by local Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Anyone interested to be vaccinated will have to register his or her name from January 26. The vaccination campaign will start in the country from February 8.