Reza Mahmud :
Bangladesh is going to produce Covid-19 preventive vaccines to cover shortages of supply, while the stock of jabs will run out within a week.
The stock of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine collected from neighboring India will be exhausted within one week, officials said.
On the other hand, there will be no new supply of the jab immediately.
In these circumstances, the government has decided to produce covid vaccine in the country soon, besides activated the efforts to collect the vaccines from different source countries.
The government trying to produce easy processed jab which may manufacture shortly within its logistic and financial capability.
Besides, private owned Incepta pharmaceuticals limited also is going to manufacture Chinese Cinopharma vaccine quickly.
The government has taken such initiatives to manufacture the jabs to meet the demand of vaccines in the country.
“The government is trying utmost to provide vaccines for strengthening the combat against the fatal covid-19 virus,” Dr. Robed Amin, Spokesman of DGHS told The New Nation on Sunday.
He said that the government stressed on easy production oriented covid vaccines which could be manufactured and stock piled effortlessly and used in field level during vaccination campaigns.
“The government has given priorities to manufacture covid-19 vaccines locally, as the efforts to collect jabs in time failed repeatedly,” Dr. Robed Amin said.
Sources of the DGHS said that the higher officials sat in two meetings recently in this regards. They will also sit shortly for more discussions to produce easy technology based vaccines.
“There are acute shortages of supplies covid-19 vaccines, we witnessed. In these circumstances the government is trying to produce anti-covid vaccine in the country,” the DGHS spokesperson said.
He said that the government is thinking to manufacture protein spike like vaccines to prevent the infection of the deadly virus in human body.
“Novavax of USA is going to manufacture such vaccine to provide within a short time for emergency use. We are also thinking of such one for quick production,” Dr. Robed Amin said.
Besides, the government is going to approve Chinese Sinopharm vaccine production at Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd soon.
“So far I am informed, the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) may approve Incepta to start manufacturing of Chinese Sinopharm covid vaccine soon. As per the information, the company can start production of the vaccine in this month. It is good news for the people,” Dr. Robed Amin said.
He said also that they are taking preparation to distribute five lakh doses of the Sinopharm vaccines collected from China recently.
Meanwhile, Professor Dr. Md. Nazmul Islam, another spokesperson of the DGHS said earlier on the day that the stock of AstraZeneca vaccines would run out within one week.
He said it in a regular briefing that as per human health experts the recipients who have taken the first doses of the jab can take the second shot after 12 to 16 weeks.
