Covid-19: Bangladesh to receive 6 million Pfizer vaccine doses under Covax in August

Published at 09:49 am July 10th, 2021

File photo: Vials labelled 'Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine' and a syringe are seen in front of the Pfizer logo in this illustration taken February 9, 2021 Reuters

More vaccine doses will arrive from China, says the health minister

Bangladesh is set to receive six million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in August under the Covax facility, according to the health minister.

Zahid Maleque made the disclosure on Saturday while speaking to reporters during a visit to the vaccination centre at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College (BSMMC) in Dhaka.

He said the issues surrounding the vaccine stock in the country have now been “resolved.”

Also Read - Bangladesh hopeful of receiving 3.5 million vaccine doses from Covax in July

“You all will be glad to hear that WHO, in a letter sent on Friday, informed us that Bangladesh will get six more million Pfizer vaccine shots under the Covax initiative,” said the minister.

He said that the vaccines will arrive by the first week of August, adding that the Covax facility has so far provided a total of 4.5 million vaccines to the country.

At the same time, more vaccines will come from China, Maleque said.

“More vaccines will arrive from China. Bangladesh is to receive over 1.5 to 1.85 million vaccine jabs in the next month or so.”

On May 31, Bangladesh received a consignment of 100,620 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the first under the international vaccine-sharing platform Covax.

Also Read - imo introduces Covid vaccine registration option for users in Bangladesh

The vaccine's preservation temperature ranges between -90°C and -60°C. However, it can remain stable for five days at 2°C to 8°C and for two hours at 30°C, according to health authorities.

As the country managed to rebuild vaccine reserves, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) resumed vaccine registration while reducing the minimum age to 35 on Thursday. Eligible candidates can register through instant messaging app imo, as well as through the surokkha website and app.

Bangladesh has so far approved seven vaccines for emergency use: Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna.