Dhaka, June 10 -- The government has approved a direct purchase of vaccines from United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) as a measles outbreak continues to claim children's lives across Bangladesh.

Approval has been granted to allocate Tk 4.13 billion for vaccine procurement during the current fiscal year.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase endorsed the decision at a meeting held at the Secretariat at 10:45am, the finance ministry said.

Since Mar 15, 92 people have died from confirmed cases, while 539 others have died with similar symptoms, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The DGHS also said 66,170 patients with symptoms were admitted to hospitals during th...