Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh received one million more doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine under the Covax facility on Wednesday.
These shots of the Pfizer vaccine have been gifted by the USA as sign of good gestures and part of its pledges and those arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 5:30pm.
US Ambassador to Dhaka, Earl R Miller and Health Services Division Secretary Lokman Hossain Mia were present to receive the shipment at the airport.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on July 10 said that the country might get six million doses of Pfizer vaccines from the Covax facility soon.
Five million doses would arrive in phases by this month, he said.
On May 31, Bangladesh received 100,620 Pfizer vaccines from the US under the Covax facility.
From that stock, the health authorities later started inoculating the first doses of the Pfizer jab in three Dhaka centres on June 21. The health officials said, the Pfizer jab is very sensitive and seek storage under in minus 70 degree Celsius temperature.
As a result, it would not be sent beyond the capital for vaccination of people and for want of cold-chain management system, sources said.
Besides, the US said, it is committed to lead the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic and will begin in this summer the allocation.
He said, of 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine providing to Gavi Alliance for distribution by Covax to countries around the world.
US President Joe Biden reaffirmed this commitment by announcing that the US would donate 80 million doses of vaccines to support to the less developed countries.
Bangladesh currently administers four different vaccines for its vaccination campaign – AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sinopharm.
As of Tuesday, around 18.48 million people have received the first Covid-19 jab, while some 8.04 million have received both doses.
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed 26,274 lives and infected 1,503,680 people in Bangladesh so far.
The country started vaccination campaign since February 7 this year.
