DHAKA, Sept 16 (NNN-BSS) – Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, said yesterday, her government is expecting to receive 60 million doses of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in the next three months.
She made the remark while replying to a tabled question from a lawmaker, during the prime minister’s question-and-answer session in parliament.
In line with a schedule given by Sinopharm, she said, “A total of 60 million vaccine doses – 20 million doses each month – will be available in the country from China till Dec.
According to the premier, 44,431,880 vaccine jabs have so far been collected through bilateral arrangements and initiatives under COVAX.
She said, there is a plan to vaccinate 80 percent of Bangladesh’s population, including students aged 12 and above, under the vaccination coverage.
Meanwhile, she mentioned that the physically challenged people will also be brought under the vaccination coverage.
Currently, Hasina said, the age limit has been reduced to 18 and “steps are underway to bring all students of 12 years and above under vaccination coverage.”
Hasina said, her government is trying to collect at least 10 million or more doses of vaccines every month, to keep the ongoing vaccination drives unhampered.
Also, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, yesterday said, they expect 240 million vaccine doses by Apr next year under the COVAX facility, as gifts.
Bangladesh’s vaccination drive is now running smoothly in the capital, Dhaka and elsewhere, thanks largely to China’s continued support. To fight against the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, Bangladesh signed an agreement on the co-production of the Chinese vaccines locally.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between China’s Sinopharm Group, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Incepta Vaccine Ltd., a local vaccine manufacturing company, last month.
Bangladesh began the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Jan, to contain the pandemic that has spread across the country.
Amid uncertainty over the timely arrival of vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government later halted administering the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In June, the vaccination drive resumed in some parts of the country with the China-donated Sinopharm vaccines.– NNN-BSS
