With child deaths from measles rising, the Tariq Rahman-led BNP government said it ran into a full-blown vaccine crisis, claiming there was not a single measles vaccine in stock when it took office – comments seen as a veiled criticism of both Sheikh Hasina’s government and the Muhammad Yunus-led interim setup.“The current measles outbreak is due to the absence of regular nationwide vaccination programs after December 2020 and the acute shortage of vaccines in subsequent years,” Health Minister Sardar Mohammad Sakhawat Hussain said on Sunday, referring to Hasina and Yunus’ tenure as prime ministers.In the wake of nearly 460 children dying from measles (six in the last 24 hours) and over 7,400 children being infected since mid-March, the Bangladesh High Court accepted a petition demanding that Yunus and 24 others be barred from leaving the country until an investigation into the shortage of measles vaccines is completed.On Monday, the HC adjourned the hearing on a plea seeking direction to form an independent inquiry commission to determine responsibility for irregularities, delays and administrative failures in the procurement and distribution of measles vaccines and banning interim government advisers, including Yunus, from leaving the country.UNICEF-Bangladesh had repeatedly warned the Yunus-led interim government about the impending vaccine shortage and the resulting risk of the disease spreading, officials said, adding that a total of 42,092 suspected measles patients have been hospitalized, of whom 37,744 have recovered.After a years-long hiatus in the measles vaccination campaign, the Health Minister said that with the help of UNICEF, vaccination was to be resumed in 2026 after the BNP took power, although he admitted that “in fact, when we started we did not have a single measles vaccine in our hands”.Hussain said the situation has “improved to some extent” after massive vaccination drives were conducted in the affected districts, upazilas and municipal corporation areas, though health experts and doctors said the situation at the ground level was still serious. The huge surge has put health officials on high alert, especially in densely populated areas of Dhaka where the disease is spreading rapidly.