No Covid vaccine for students under 18 yrs: Health Dept

Students under the age of 18 will not currently be vaccinated against coronavirus, according to the Department of Health.

Member Secretary of the Department of Health's Vaccine Deployment Committee Shamsul Haque said in the regular health bulletin of the department on On Sunday (September 5).

Earlier on Saturday (September 4), Health Minister Zahid Malek said Pfizer and Modern vaccines would be given to students under the age of 18.

After inspecting the Nursing and Midwifery Licensing / Pre-Registration Examination Center at Tejgaon in the capital, he said on Saturday, "Pfizer and Modern vaccines will be given to students between the ages of 12 and 18. However, in this case, the decision will be taken after getting adequate vaccination.

The Minister of Health said, “According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination of school and college students depends on their age. Any vaccine can be given if the student is over 18 years of age. However, if the age is more than 12 years, but if it is less than 18 years, then Pfizer and Modern vaccines are being given in developed countries. If we vaccinate students in our country, we will also follow the guidelines of the WHO.

He added that 80 percent of medical college-university students have been vaccinated.

Asked if there would be a new risk of infection if the school-college reopened, the health minister said, "I can't say anything about it alone. Tomorrow (September 5) at the inter-ministerial meeting, those concerned will decide on how to create a safe environment to reopen educational institutions.