DSCC to begin typhoid vaccination campaign on Oct 12

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will launch the 'Typhoid Vaccination Campaign 2025' on October 12 to protect children from the disease.

In the month-long programme, about 10 lakh children aged between nine months and 15 years will be given free typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), according to an advocacy meeting held at the Nagar Bhaban Auditorium on Thursday with DSCC Chief Executive Officer Md Zahirul Islam in the chair.

The meeting was informed that the vaccination programme will be implemented in two phases, reports BSS.

In the first phase, students will be vaccinated in 2,252 educational institutions under the DSCC from October 12 to October 31. In the second phase, children from outside educational institutions and marginalized groups will be vaccinated through about 450 temporary vaccination centres from November 1 to November 13.

In addition, vaccination can also be received from 75 permanent centres in each ward office from October 12 to November 13. However, vaccination activities will not be carried out on Fridays and public holidays.

Birth registration has been made mandatory for children to receive vaccinations. For this, guardians will have to register on a specific website using the child's 17-digit birth registration number and download the vaccination card.

Children whose birth registration has not yet been completed have been urged to register at the ward office immediately.

In this regard, the regional offices of DSCC have been instructed to provide birth registration services on a priority basis.

Speakers at the meeting said that typhoid is a bacterial infection that spreads through contaminated water and food. It is possible to prevent this disease and its complications through timely vaccination, they said.

They added that the typhoid conjugate vaccine is completely safe and has been tested by the World Health Organization.

Zahirul Islam said, "We want to turn this vaccination programme into a festival for children. Parents should consciously encourage their children to get vaccinated."