First batch of vaccines to arrive next month, health minister says

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the first batch of vaccines against coronavirus disease will arrive in Bangladesh at the end of January.

“We are bringing in 30 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. These will arrive at the end of January. The process to bring them over is complete,” he said.

Maleque came up with the statement at a ceremony of the Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad (Swachip) at BMA Auditorium on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.

The government has chalked up a plan to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population or about 138.2 million people.

Serum Institute of India will deliver the shots developed by Britain’s vaccine University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Beximco Pharmaceuticals is the sole supplier of the vaccine in Bangladesh.

The government will begin the vaccination by giving the first shots free of cost to those on the frontline of the fight against the pandemic.

Besides this, the COVAX programme led by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation or GAVI will provide another 60.8 million doses of vaccines for 20 percent of the population.

The government is preparing to battle a possible second wave of the pandemic in winter and is scoping for more vaccines from other sources.