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Bangladesh is yet to take a final decision on its being a part of the phase-three trial of a Covid-19 vaccine, being developed by the Chinese company Sinovac.
According to relevant senior officials, the government is now examining the modus operandi of the trial procedure.
However, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen expressed his ignorance about the issue.
"We are not aware of such move. I have read it in the newspaper but nobody has approached us formally" , he told the FE on Tuesday.
He said it is the health ministry that will deal with such an issue.
Health Secretary Abdul Mannan, when contacted by the FE, said "The government is considering how to proceed with the trial. The government is holding discussion at the higher level on the issue".
He said this when asked what is the decision of the government regarding the trial.
Foreign Ministry will also be involved in the issue because a team from another country will work for the trial, he said.
However, a private TV channel quoting the health secretary said there will be no trial of the Chinese vaccine in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC), in the meanwhile, has approved the phase-III clinical trial of a Chinese vaccine for Covid-19 treatment.
The executive committee of BMRC approved it in a meeting on Saturday after a month-long review by its ethics committee.
On Monday a senior official of the Chinese Embassy said that the Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka, Li Jiming will be the first volunteer to be inoculated with the trial vaccine.
According to reports the trial would be conducted on around 4,200 healthcare staffers working in seven Covid-19 hospitals from August for the next 18 months.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), and the inventor Chinese company -- Sinovac Research and Development Limited -- will jointly conduct the trial.
Phase-III clinical trial means the vaccine is at its final stage of major trials in which the vaccine is given to thousands of people and tested for efficacy and safety.
"The vaccine will be administered to the healthcare staffers who are not infected with Covid-19 as they are exposed to the disease. It will be examined whether and how much antibodies against Covid-19 grow in their bodies," an official of the BMRC said.
Interestingly, Indian media highly criticised the move to conduct the trial of Chinese vaccine in Bangladesh.
"China in a startling move plans to use the population of Bangladesh as 'guinea pigs' to conduct Phase III trials of its Covid vaccine" said Indian daily The Economic Times.
The Indian daily also noted: "While some Western Pharma companies have predatory practices, Chinese companies are now trying to exploit vulnerable populations for their profits".