Research Article

Testing, Mortality, and Vaccination Disparities: A Post-Analysis of COVID-19 Trends in Bangladesh

Authors

  • Md Raiyan Hashar Department of Public Health, World University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh

    raiyan.hsr@gmail.com

  • Nushrat Maliha Chattogram Maa O Shishu Hospital Medical College, Bangladesh
  • Shahnoor Shabab Jashore Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh
  • Maisha Maliha Misha Internal Medicine, Jashore Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh
  • Hafsa Akter Faridpur medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh
  • Chandrima Halder Army Medical College Chattogram, Bangladesh
  • Sheikh Sadeka Binte Rob Department of Physics, National University, Bangladesh

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural weaknesses in Bangladesh’s health system that were shaped by uneven access to testing and vaccination. We analyzed data from the World Health Organization and the Directorate General of Health Services from 2020 to 2023. Bangladesh reported a little over two million confirmed cases and nearly thirty thousand deaths. The case fatality rate was about 1.44 %. Testing reached about 9.3 % of the population and the positivity rate was about 13 %, which suggests substantial under-detection outside major cities. Vaccination coverage passed four fifths for at least one dose, but it varied across districts. Dhaka reached about 97 % for first-dose coverage while Mymensingh was near 70 %. Gazipur reported coverage above 100 %, which likely reflects doses given to migrants or people who do not reside there. Booster uptake was inconsistent and ranged from very low in some districts to 62 % in Chuadanga. The main conclusion is that pandemic outcomes were driven more by district-level inequities in detection and protection than by national averages. The primary implication is that Bangladesh and similar countries should invest in district-focused programs that expand local testing capacity, strengthen routine mortality surveillance, and deliver data-guided vaccine and booster services to underserved areas. These steps would close observed gaps and improve readiness for the next health emergency.

Keywords:

COVID-19 Mortality Public Health Testing Vaccination Disparities

Article information

Journal

Journal of Medical Science, Biology, and Chemistry

Volume (Issue)

2(2), (2025)

Pages

145-151

Published

03-09-2025

How to Cite

Hashar, M. R., Maliha, N., Shabab, S., Misha, M. M., Akter, H., Halder, C., & Rob, S. S. B. (2025). Testing, Mortality, and Vaccination Disparities: A Post-Analysis of COVID-19 Trends in Bangladesh. Journal of Medical Science, Biology, and Chemistry, 2(2), 145-151. https://doi.org/10.69739/jmsbc.v2i2.892

References

Anwar, S., Nasrullah, M., & Hosen, M. J. (2020). COVID-19 and Bangladesh: Challenges and how to address them. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 154.

Dowd, J. B., Andriano, L., Brazel, D. M., Rotondi, V., Block, P., Ding, X., Liu, Y., & Mills, M. C. (2020). Demographic science aids in understanding the spread and fatality rates of COVID-19. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(18), 9696–9698.

Hale, T., Angrist, N., Goldszmidt, R., Kira, B., Petherick, A., Phillips, T., Webster, S., Cameron-Blake, E., Hallas, L., Majumdar, S., & Tatlow, H. (2021). A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker). Nature Human Behaviour, 5(4), 529–538.

Jannat, Z., Das, H., Ali, M. W., Wahed, T., Alam, M. N., & Uddin, M. J. (2024). Disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among rural hard-to-reach population and urban high-risk groups of Bangladesh. PloS one, 19(4), e0302056.

Kavanagh, M. M., Erondu, N. A., Tomori, O., Dzau, V. J., Okiro, E. A., Maleche, A., Aniebo, I., Rugege, U., Holmes, C. B., & Gostin, L. O. (2020). Access to lifesaving medical resources for African countries: COVID-19 testing and response, lessons from Ebola. The Lancet, 395(10238), 1505–1506.

Paul, A., Sikdar, D., Mahanta, J., Ghosh, S., Jabed, M. A., Paul, S., ... & Hossain, F. (2021). Peoples’ understanding, acceptance, and perceived challenges of vaccination against COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh. PLoS ONE, 16(8), e0256493.

Shammi, M., Bodrud-Doza, M., Towfiqul Islam, A. R. M., & Rahman, M. M. (2020). Strategic assessment of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: Comparative lockdown scenario analysis, public perception, and management for sustainability. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(4), 6148–6191.

Walker, P. G. T., Whittaker, C., Watson, O. J., Baguelin, M., Winskill, P., Hamlet, A., ... & Donnelly, C. A. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 and strategies for mitigation and suppression in low- and middle-income countries. Science, 369(6502), 413–422.

Wouters, O. J., Shadlen, K. C., Salcher-Konrad, M., Pollard, A. J., Larson, H. J., Teerawattananon, Y., & Jit, M. (2021). Challenges in ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines: Production, affordability, allocation, and deployment. The Lancet, 397(10278), 1023–1034.

Downloads

Views

22

Downloads

2