Govt allocates Tk 6.04b for purchase of measles vax

No measles vaccine had been provided in the country in the last eight years, which had culminated in the recent outbreak of the disease, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said on Sunday.
The government had allocated Tk 6.04 billion to buy new measles vaccines considering the situation, he said.
"The number of measles patients has increased a lot. The measles vaccine was provided eight years ago. After that, no government has administered vaccines.
"But we have allocated Tk 6.04 billion for this. The purchase committee has approved it. We will receive the vaccine in due time and start distributing it," he said while responding to questions from journalists after the inauguration of the International Pharmaceutical Industry Fair at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) in the capital's Purbachal.
On January 4 this year, a measles patient was identified at the Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar.
Following that, an alert was issued in the camp area on January 10.
Around the same time, measles cases began to be reported in the slum areas of Dhaka.
According to health officials, measles cases have been prevalent across the country to varying degrees, but a higher number of patients are being reported in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Pabna, Chattogram, Jashore, and Natore.
The health minister further said necessary preparations were being taken to provide healthcare to measles patients.
He said hospitals, including the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Children's Hospital, DNCC Dedicated Hospital, and Dhaka Medical College Hospital, had been prepared with intensive care unit (ICU) facilities and ventilator support, with additional arrangements in Manikganj and northern Bangladesh.
Sakhawat said the government had received a donation of five ventilators after several children died due to a lack of space in the ICU of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Drug manufacturers would also supply more than 12 ventilators to the government in a few days, the minister added.
The move to provide four ventilators to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital came after the deaths of 33 children in 11 days reportedly due to a shortage of the machine.
Between March 10 and 24, at least 44 children undergoing treatment at the hospital died after failing to secure admission to the ICU, officials said.
According to them, children are given the first dose of measles vaccine at the age of nine months and the second one at 15 months.
On the other hand, all children aged nine months to 10 years are vaccinated during campaigns.
The last national campaign was held in 2020.
At that time, 34 million children were supposed to be vaccinated.
The previous campaign had been held in 2014.
Health experts say the measles outbreak may have occurred due to the shortage of vaccine supply, while many children are being left out of vaccination due to a lack of health workers.

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