Bangladesh government approved the emergency use of the Russian COVID 19 vaccine Sputnik V on Tuesday. The Director General of Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) Maj Gen Mahbubur Rahman told the official news agency BSS that the vaccine is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in May this year.
Sputnik V is the second vaccine to receive approval for use in Bangladesh. Earlier, the Serum Institute of India (SII) produced the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in Bangladesh which has received 7 million doses of the contracted 30 million doses from SII till now. Additionally, it has also received over 3.2 million doses from India as a gift. However, in recent few weeks the supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine has stopped due to a surge of domestic cases in India and increased domestic demand for the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh attended a virtual meeting convened by China to discuss COVID cooperation on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Foreign Ministers of China, Bangladesh, Sri Lank and Nepal. Pakistan and Afghanistan were represented at the level of the Deputies.
During the meeting China proposed to set up a ‘COVID emergency Medical Storage Facility’ for five South Asian countries, reportes official news agency BSS. Mentioning that the location of the storage facility is yet to be decided, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh said that Dhaka proposed for inclusion of oxygen supplies in the emergency set up.
Speaking about the vaccine supply, Dr. Momen said that China will give 6 lakh vaccines as a gift to Bangladesh while Dhaka is planning to buy more vaccines from China.
Talking to BSS, the Foreign Minister stressed that Bangladesh’s decision to join the Chinese COVID cooperation platform for South Asian nations will not affect Dhaka- New Delhi ties in any manner.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh reported 78 COVID 19 deaths taking the death toll to 11,228. During the same time period 3031 fresh Corona cases were also reported in the country.
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