Momen: 3.5 million doses of vaccine coming from India on Thursday

There will be sufficient Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh, with 3.5 million doses of Covishield coming from India to the country on Thursday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.

He said India is sending two million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) as a gift to Bangladesh, while 1.5 million doses are coming through private sector.

"So, together we will get 35 lakh [3.5 million] doses of vaccines on Thursday. There will be plenty of vaccines in the country, we are quite sure now. We can start the vaccination program ahead of the schedule," the foreign minister told reporters after attending a function in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Asked whether Bangladesh would get vaccines as a gift from other countries, Dr Momen said he was not aware of it, but more countries including Russia and China were interested in providing vaccines.

The vaccines that will come as a gift will be handed over at a program at state guest house Padma on Thursday afternoon.