Last-minute changes to inoculation plans display lack of foresight

We are disappointed, but not at all surprised, to find that the government's ambitious six-day vaccination programme, which aimed to inoculate around one crore people in six days from August 7, has had to be revised even before it could take off. From its onset, we have seen the vaccination drive plagued with uncertainty, with it grinding to a halt in April due to a shortage of vaccines. At the time, the government was criticised for not planning for this eventuality. Although the arrival of more vaccines restarted the programme in July, the last-minute retreat from a massive vaccination campaign has again raised questions about the government's lack of coordination and planning when it comes to Covid-19 inoculations.

What is the reason behind this change of plans? According to a Straight from Star Newsroom report, the government was expecting to receive more vaccines from China and COVAX at the beginning of this month, which have been delayed. However, since such delays have already happened before, we are confused why the government did not keep this in mind while planning the drive. Given that over half of the people who have received the first jab are yet to receive the second dose, some simple calculations would have yielded the fact that aiming to distribute almost all of the vaccines currently at hand to new candidates at the ward and union levels might be impractical, especially since the government had said it would prioritise vaccinating other groups as well.

The main special vaccination campaign is now set to begin on August 14, whereas today the government will be conducting a trial run aimed at vaccinating the elderly and people in rural areas. Given that we have seen the recent wave of coronavirus hit the rural areas of Bangladesh, with the highest mortality rate being among populations over the age of 50, it is a good decision to focus on the elderly in rural areas in today's vaccination run. However, we must also remind the authorities involved that there has to be a long-term strategic plan involved in achieving its inoculation target.

So far, the government seems to have made many open-ended promises about inoculating almost all of the adult population, without outlining any concrete plans on how it will be done. At different points, the authorities have said they will prioritise different groups (the elderly, disabled, migrant workers, families of frontline workers, students, etc)—but with limited supply, how exactly will this work? Will this be done in phases? Will Covid-19 hotspots be specifically targeted?

The health minister has said the government will use this trial run to identify the problems of vaccine rollout and fix those accordingly before the main drive, and that there will be a special focus on raising awareness in rural areas. We sincerely hope that this will be the case, and that today's vaccination drive will operate smoothly and efficiently. We urge the authorities to ensure that the August 14 programme goes forward as promised. Otherwise, this constant back and forth and confusion over its plans, not just in terms of the vaccination drive but with regard to lockdowns and other Covid-related decisions as well, could place the government in a credibility crisis.