March 29, 2024, 7:59 pm


Staff Correspondent

Published:
2021-01-26 22:14:08 BdST

5m more vaccines arrive


The first consignment of purchased Covid-19 vaccine arrived in the country from India on Monday as the countrywide vaccination programme is set to be inaugurated on Wednesday.

A special Air India flight carrying 5 million doses of the jab, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 11am.

Bangladesh has now seven million doses of the Covishield vaccine, including 2 million received from the neighbouring country as a gift, in stock.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will flag off the much-awaited vaccination programme on Wednesday.

She will open the drive through videoconferencing from her official residence Ganobhaban at 3:30pm, said sources at the Health Ministry.

The prime minister will also virtually witness the administration of vaccine to five people, they said.

In a diplomatic success of the prime minister, the country like many developed nations successfully managed the ‘effective’ coronavirus vaccine in time.

Supplying the coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh, the India has also showed a gesture of love for its very neighbouring country.

The Indian company supplied the 5 million doses of vaccine through its local vendor Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

After the arrival, nine freezer vans of Beximco carried the vaccine doses to its warehouse at Gazipur's Tongi.

The drug company will hand those over to the government as per its need.

Talking to reporters at the airport, Nazmul Hassan, managing director of Beximco, said they will send vaccine doses to different districts in 4-5 days for distribution, subject to approval from the government.

“Samples from every vaccine batch will be sent to government's drug-testing laboratories and the testing will take 48 hours,” he said.

Nazmul said as per the tripartite deal, 30 million doses of vaccine will arrive from the SII with 5 million coming every month. “We have three warehouses with a capacity to preserve 10 million doses of vaccine,” he added.

On December 13 last, a tripartite agreement was signed for purchasing 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from the SII through Beximco.

Health Ministry sources said a nurse will first receive the vaccine at Kurmitola General Hospital after the prime minister inaugurates the vaccination programme tomorrow.

A total of 20 front line fighters, including healthcare providers, will take the vaccine at the hospital on the day, they said.

Around 400-500 front liners, including doctors and nurses, will be given the vaccine at Kurmitola General Hospital, Mugda General Hospital, Kuwait-Bangladesh Maitree Govt Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) on January 28.

The first vaccine receivers will remain under observation for seven days to see whether they show any side effect, the ministry sources added.

Meanwhile, the online registration for the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination programme opens today.

The ICT Division handed over online platform www.surokkha.com to the Health Ministry on Monday, sources said.

People can register using this website or downloading ‘Surokkha’ mobile app from the Android Play Store or Apple App Store.

Claiming that the Covishield vaccine is most effective in the world, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said the health service team will remain ready to provide support if any side effect is found after giving the vaccine. “Telemedicine service will also be available to observe the situation after giving the vaccine.”

Mentioning that the government will not give the vaccine forcibly to anyone, he said everyone can receive the vaccine independently as per their desire.

The government has also allowed antibody test to determine whether those vaccinated developed antibodies against the virus.

Health Services Division Secretary Md Abdul Mannan earlier said the government has a plan to vaccinate six million people in the first month and five million in the next month and in the third month, the six million people receiving the first shot in the first month would get their second dose.

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