Decreasing transmission and initiation of countrywide vaccination: Key challenges for future management of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

With a fragile healthcare system, Bangladesh, much like other countries in South East Asia, struggled during the early days of COVID-19 pandemic. In following months several encouraging initiatives were undertaken including nationwide lockdown, maintaining social distancing and setting up COVID-19 dedicated laboratories and hospitals. Despite fear of an escalation in COVID-19 transmission during the winter months like their European counterparts, fortunately infection rates subsided and Bangladesh came out largely unharmed. But the next phase of COVID-19 pandemic management that includes viral transmission suppression and conduction of nationwide immunization program require several urgent steps from government of Bangladesh (GoB) and relevant stakeholders. This qualitative research piece discussed about issues including an urgent need to enhance critical care facilities around the country, especially in peripheral districts; ramping up COVID-19 testing at existing laboratories in view of diagnosing each case, and ensuring vaccines for the vulnerable populations in the country. Furthermore, the researchers shed light on other issues including a need to reinforce a struggling healthcare workforce, encouraging people to take vaccine, proper maintenance of social distancing regulations, routine epidemiological surveillance, management of environment and biomedical waste and undertaking a holistic approach to combat the pandemic and its environmental and financial consequences.