Health Minister urges to be aware of increasing dengue

Health and Family Welfare Minister, Zahid Malek said that the impact of dengue infection has been increasing in Bangladesh for some time and everyone should be vigilant to stay free from dengue infection.

He said these things as the chief guest at the official inauguration of World Immunization Week at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital today at 12 pm. 

The health minister said, "To avoid dengue, one should be careful from mosquito bites. The surrounding environment should be kept clean. Water should not accumulate on the roofs and yards of houses."

Zahid Malek said about the vaccination program, "Like every year, the vaccination week has been celebrated all over the world this year. We vaccinate two and a half million children each year, covering more than 10 diseases. 1 lakh 20 thousand centers are arranged for this program. We also vaccinate women aged 15 to 49 years. They are also vaccinated against 10 types of diseases."

He said, "People of our country are interested in vaccination, they take vaccination with great pleasure. Mothers are eager to vaccinate their children. They are the main reason behind our vaccination success. In this case, the government's goodwill is also a big factor. This activity requires a lot of logistical support, which is provided by the government. We are also doing other activities during vaccination."

Speakers at the meeting said, "Many could not receive the vaccines included in the regular immunization program on time due to misleading information or various barriers in accessing services, especially because of our location in our respective residences during the COVID pandemic. As a result, there is a clear gap in immunity between unvaccinated and vaccinated protected children. Because of the outbreaks of polio, diphtheria, tuberculosis and other vaccine preventable diseases around the world, we must all work together to ensure that unvaccinated children gets vaccinated."