23 lakh Dhaka residents to get cholera vaccine

PBC News:  Twenty-three lakh residents of Dhaka city will be brought under oral cholera vaccination programme this year. People aged one and above will be given this vaccine.

Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) spokesperson professor Dr. Najmul Islam said this at a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

Najmul said DGHS has confirmed the deaths of four people from diarrhea in the country.

“This vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women for this vaccine. The oral vaccines would be given in five places–Jatrabari, Dakshinkhan, Mirpur, Mohammadpur and Sabujbagh—in the capital,” said the spokesperson.

The first dose of cholera will be given in May while second dose will be given in June, he added.

When asked why the vaccine will not be given across the country, Najmul said, “There is crisis for this vaccine now. We are getting this vaccine after supply cut of Nigeria.”

In reply to a query on outbreak of diarrhea in city’s Jatrabari area, the DGHS spokesperson said, “This caused due to lack of pure water. There is a problem with the supply line. If the problem of supplying water is not solved then it will continue. The water that I drink it must be safe.”