Bangladesh vaccinates hundreds of sex workers at largest brothel
In this picture taken in March 2021, a health worker inoculates sex workers from the country's largest brothel with the COVID-19 vaccine in Daulatdia. (Photo: AFP/Munir Uz Zaman)
DAULATDIA, Bangladesh: Hundreds of sex workers at Bangladesh's largest brothel have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in a one-day inoculation drive the participants hope will revive an industry devastated by the pandemic.
Bangladesh, one of the few Muslim nations where prostitution is legal, has at least 11 brothels operational across the country of 169 million.
The western town of Daulatdia, a vast warren of shacks, has been running a brothel for more than a century but the livelihoods of many sex workers have been hit hard by coronavirus lockdowns and fears over contracting the virus.
Authorities have been trying to vaccinate the workers living there but have been hampered by a shortage of supplies.
Health officials administered first and second doses of India-made AstraZeneca vaccines to nearly 200 sex workers in Daulatdia starting from February.
But they were unable to expand the programme further after New Delhi froze exports.
