20 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines reach Dhaka as gift from India

Published : 21 Jan 2021, 13:18

Sahos Desk

A chartered flight  of Air India carrying the vaccines  landed at Shahjalal International Airport  at 11:21 am ,said  additional SP of Airport Armed Police  Alamgir Hossain . The 20 lakh doses of vaccines will be handed over to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at 1:30pm today at State guesthouse Padma.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar tweeted on "VaccineMaitri" saying India reaffirms the highest priority accorded by India to relations with Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said there would be sufficient vaccines in the country with 35 lakh doses of Covishield coming from India on Thursday. He said, “India is sending 20 lakh doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made by Serum Institute of India as a gift while 15 lakh doses will come through private sector channels.” “So, together we will get 35 lakh doses of vaccines on Thursday. There would be plenty of vaccines in the country. We can start the vaccination programme ahead of the schedule.”

Asked whether Bangladesh will get vaccines as a gift from other countries, Dr Momen said he was not aware of it but more countries including Russia and China were interested in providing vaccines.

On January 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Bangladesh would receive the first consignment of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine during January 25-26.

“As per the guideline of the World Health Organization, we will vaccinate those first who are working with risks. Also, elderly people will get more priority. People below the age of 18 will not get the vaccine,” the minister said. “The government is also in talks with Russia, China and others to collect more vaccines.”

On January 14, Maleque said, “Bangladesh can now store up to 150 million vaccines. So, there will not be any problem when 40-50 million doses come from India.” “Each government hospital has been prepared to preserve 425,000 doses. Another 71,000 doses can be stored in the five-six ice freezers at the hospitals.”

“The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) will strictly monitor the vaccination process to prevent irregularities. A ‘vaccine bulletin’ will be published regularly by the health ministry,” the minister said. “Around 42,000 health workers are being trained for vaccination and an app for vaccine registration and distribution is in the final stage of completion under the ICT ministry.”

On January 7, the government approved the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The approval would allow Beximco Pharmaceuticals to bring doses from the Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the vaccine, Mohammad Salahuddin, deputy director of the DGDA, said.

Under the deal, Bangladesh will import 3 crore doses of SARS-Cov-2 AZD 1222 (Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine) from Serum in the next six months

Source: UNB

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