DHAKA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh aims to administer COVID-19 vaccines to nearly half of its population by next January.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday said the Bangladeshi government is working to vaccinate 80 million people by December and January, Bangladesh's state-run news agency BSS reported.

The minister said the government is considering vaccinating children aged between 12 and 17 years.

Bangladesh has already announced a target of vaccinating 80 percent of its population by 2022. The South Asian country has so far got nearly 70 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, largely being China's Sinopharm vaccines.

The vaccination drive in Bangladesh is running smoothly thanks mainly to China's continuous support.

Bangladesh launched the vaccine rollout in January. Amid uncertainty about a timely vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the people.

In June, the vaccination drive resumed in parts of the country with the China-donated Sinopharm vaccines.

As of Oct. 9, 36,178,946 people in Bangladesh have reportedly received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 17,940,300 were fully vaccinated. The coronavirus infection and fatality rates have fallen significantly since August as the government bolstered inoculation drives in extensive areas to rein in COVID-19, according to Bangladesh's Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS). Enditem

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