DHAKA, Apr 28 (NNN-BSS) – The Bangladeshi government approved the import and use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.
Major General Mahbubur Rahman, director general of the country’s Drug Administration, made the announcement yesterday.
The decision came, days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, on a supply crunch. “We’ve given permission for the emergency use of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine,” Rahman said.
Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next COVID-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country, from Monday.
Nearly six million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh. Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Jan 28, virtually inaugurated the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.
The Bangladeshi government, on Monday announced that, it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown, which began on Apr 14, for another week.
Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from COVID-19 on Apr 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.
Yesterday, the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659, and the total death toll to 11,228.– NNN-BSS