Despite the severe scarcity of vaccines, Bangladesh now plans to put all sea and land ports under Covid-19 vaccination programme aiming to keep the supply chain uninterrupted.
At the same time, the Bangladeshi mariners will also be vaccinated on a priority basis for which work is underway to create a list of the seafarers.
Officials said in the absence of getting vaccinated, the port employees feel unsecured and bear risks to get infected by the Covid-19 virus and they are hesitant in rendering services properly, as they come to contact with the foreign mariners at the port area.
Junior shipping minister of Bangladesh, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury told newsmen Sunday that vaccination of the port employees will begin on a priority basis on 14 July as the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths seems out of control with 230 people dying and 11,874 testing coronavirus positive on 11 July, breaking all previous records.
In Chittagong so far, some 15 port-related persons died of Covid-19, according to the minister, who highlighted, “Port employees and mariners work as frontline workers and we need to give them protection.”
Meantime, in the face of demands put forward by the mariners, the government is also putting them on the vaccination priority list. The mariners had been alleging that they were facing hurdles to secure jobs abroad as they did not get vaccinated.
Sharar Nayel
Bangladesh Correspondent
