Foreign
URGENT actions is needed to increase COVID-19 vaccine supplies for Bangladesh as hospitals reached capacity and oxygen supplies ran short with a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
A global humanitarian organisation said on Tuesday.
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the deadly Delta COVID-19 variant is spreading fast in urban and rural areas across Bangladesh, stretching the entire health sector beyond its limits.
The organisation said that hospitals in areas of Bangladesh bordering India were experiencing a sharp rise in infections and deaths.
In the capital Dhaka, about 78 per cent of infections had been identified as caused by the Delta strain, the government said.
According to Oxford University’s Our World in Data, about three per cent of the Bangladesh population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with half the population of countries such as Britain and the U.S.
Feroz Salah Uddin, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, said the recent spike of COVID-19 infections in Bangladesh was deeply alarming.
Uddin said it was being fuelled by the more infectious and deadly Delta strain, with hundreds of people dying a week.
“Bangladesh Red Crescent has ramped up ambulance services and efforts to help reduce death and suffering due to this dangerous virus.
“Our volunteers are working alongside health authorities to accelerate vaccinations, but a crippling shortage in supply is hurting progress,’’ he said.
He added that Bangladesh Red Crescent teams were helping people with free ambulance services 24 hours a day in 10 high-risk districts and providing oxygen cylinders across the country.
Apart from this, Uddin said cooked foods and other relief materials were also being provided to people who had lost their jobs or income.
Sanjeev Kafely, head of IFRC Bangladesh Delegation, said it was critical that richer countries shared more vaccines with Bangladesh in the coming days and weeks.
“COVID-19 is having devastating impacts on millions of people in Bangladesh, with many losing their incomes and livelihoods.
“Mass vaccination is the key to ending the spiraling deaths, infections and hardships caused by this virus in Bangladesh and everywhere around the world,’’ said Kafely.
Bangladesh reported its highest spike of 9,964 new COVID-19 cases and 164 more deaths on Monday, according to the Directorate-General of Health Services. (Xinhua/NAN)
– July 6, 2021 @ 13:29 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19 surge: urgent vaccine supplies sought for Bangladesh
