Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Prof Dr Md Sayedur Rahman on Thursday (October 9) said five crore children aged 9 months to 15 years will receive typhoid vaccine during the nationwide campaign, scheduled to begin on October 12. 

The programme will run simultaneously in all schools and designated vaccination centers across the country, he said at a press conference in the ministry's conference room at the Secretariat.

Sayedur Rahman said the government is providing a single dose of typhoid vaccine completely free of charge to children, adding, "No one is allowed to take money for this service, and legal action will be taken if any such allegation arises." 

Mentioning that the movement of health assistants nationwide has been suspended, he said it is expected that they will not create any obstacles in the vaccination programme.

Regarding the demands of the protesters, he said, "Their demands date back to 2011. Nonetheless, we have shown patience towards their movement and hope that with everyone's cooperation, the typhoid vaccination programme will be completed smoothly."

Health Services Division Secretary Md Saidur Rahman said vaccination teams will be present in every neighborhood from October 12, and in every school, the programme will run from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

He added that in city corporation areas, street children will also be included in the vaccination programme through various NGOs, ensuring that no child is left out.

Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Professor Dr Md Abu Jafar, said the first phase of vaccination will run from October 12 to October 31, and the next phase will continue from November 1 to November 13.

He assured that the typhoid vaccine has no known side effects or harmful impact and is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). He urged parents not to be panicked regarding any potential side effects.

The director general said more than 2 crore children nationwide have already registered for vaccination. However, children aged 9 months to 15 years can receive the vaccine at designated centers even without prior registration, and manual registration options are also available.

END

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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