Govt working hard to bring in Covid-19 vaccine: planning minister

People who took the first Covid-19 jab still has time to take the second dose, as the gap between the two jabs can be as long as 12 weeks, up from eight weeks maintained in Bangladesh, experts said at a webinar today.

It is also reported in some countries that the second dose can be injected even after 16 weeks of the first jab, they added.

They made the comments at a webinar on "Covid-19: Linking economic and health concerns" organised by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) today.

The government is working relentlessly to bring Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh, said MA Mannan, planning minister.

For the second dose, AstraZeneca vaccine produced by other sources than India's Serum Institute will also work the same way, said Meerjady Sabrina Flora, additional director general for planning and development at the Directorate General of Health Services.

People who could only get the first jab of the vaccine so far is also safe, she said.

Binayak Sen, director general of BIDS, also spoke.