Dhaka, Mar 15: Muslims can receive Covid-19 vaccine shots during the fasting of Ramadan, said the Islamic Foundation.The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a handout in this regard on Monday after a views-exchange meeting at the Islamic Foundation on Sunday.
Director General of the Islamic Foundation Dr Mohammad Mushfiqur Rahman presided over the meeting.
Religious Affairs Secretary Mohammad Nurul Islam attended the meeting as the chief guest. High officials concerned were also present.
The meeting said the vaccination will not harm the fasting if it is taken during the daytime as the vaccine does not enter the stomach directly.
Covid-19 in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 18 more lives and infected 1,159 more in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours till Sunday morning, showing a sharp rise both in the number of deaths and daily infections.
With the latest figures, the Covid-19 fatalities climbed to 8,545 and total infections to 557,395, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily infection rate jumped to 7.15 percent on Sunday from 6.26 percent on Saturday.
But the mortality rate remained static at 1.53 percent on Saturday and Sunday which was 1.54 percent in the past few weeks, the DGHS said.
The virus infection rate had come down to below 5% on January 19 last. It even had come down below 3 percent. However, the infection rate soared again on Tuesday last as it increased to 5.13%.
The infection rate was 5.98% on Wednesday while 5.82 percent on Thursday, 6.62% on Friday and 6.26% on Saturday.
The country’s daily Covid-19 cases stayed below the 1,000-mark before Wednesday when the daily Covid-19 cases rose to 1,018.
Besides, 1,385 people recovered from the virus infections during the period. So far, 511,695 patients (91.80 percent) have recovered, according to the DGHS.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8, 2020 and the first death on March 18 in the same year.
Authorities have so far tested 4,264,551 samples, including 16,206 in the past 24 hours.
Vaccination drive in Bangladesh
Bangladesh launched its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7.
By Sunday, 4,398,094 people received the first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The second dose has to be taken between 8 and 12 weeks of the first one.
The government is providing the vaccine for free. It signed an agreement with India’s Serum Institute for acquiring 30 million doses of the vaccine.
The institute will provide five million doses every month between January and June. Those who are 40 or above can register for getting the jab at www.surokkha.gov.bd as the on-spot registration system has been revoked.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the age limit for getting the vaccine will be revised once more doses are available in the country,reports UNB.
