DGDA approves CoronaVac for emergency use
Staff Reporter
Bangladesh approved Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, Directorate General of Drug Administration release said on Sunday.
The DGDA have approved CoronaVac, the Covid-19 jab produced by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech following an application submitted by M/s Incepta Vaccine Limited on June 3.
M/s Incepta Vaccine Limited is the local agent of the Sinovac Biotech.
The Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine is the fifth one approved by the DGDA.
The DGDA release said that the vaccine can be administered among people aged 18 and above. The
two-dose vaccine will be inoculated within two to four weeks of the first jab.
The vaccine’s preservation temperature ranges between 2 degree Celsius and 8 degree Celsius.
Meanwhile, a report said that Sinovac has also completed a Phase II clinical trial where participants were injected with a third booster dose after completing two regular shots.
Participants saw a 10 fold increase in antibody levels compared with previous levels in a week, and 20 fold in half a month.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) had approved the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, saying it prevented symptomatic disease in 51 pc of those vaccinated and prevented severe symptoms and hospitalisation in 100 pc of samples.
After Sinopharm, it is the second Chinese vaccine got approval from the WHO.
Bangladesh started mass vaccination programme on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine provided by India’s Serum Institute under a procurement agreement.
Later, Serum failed to deliver the jab as per its agreement.
As a result, Bangladesh suspended administering the first dose of the vaccine on April 25, just a day after India stopped exporting the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to the worst surge in infections and deaths there.
Delta variant 40pc more transmissible
AFP
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is estimated to be 40% more transmissible than the Alpha variant that caused the last wave of infections in the UK, Britain’s health minister said on Sunday.
But people who have received two doses of vacdcine, should be equally protected against either variant, he added.
“That figure, around 40% more transmissible, is indeed the latest advice I have,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News.
The Delta variant, also known as the Indian variant, is now the dominant strain in the UK,
according to Public Health England figures.
It was the Alpha variant, previously known as the Kent variant, that forced the UK into lockdown in January.
Hancock said the 40% figure came from the government body of scientific advisors, SAGE.
Concerns are mounting over whether the emergence of the Delta variant threatens the government’s provisional June 21 deadline for lifting virus restrictions.
Hancock acknowledged that the Delta variant “does make the calculation more difficult for June 21.”
“We’ll look at the data for another week and then make a judgement,” he told the BBC on Sunday, stressing that the government was “absolutely open” to delaying the lifting of restrictions.
The minister nevertheless stressed that those who have had two doses of vaccine should be protected against illness from the Delta variant.
Public Health England said last month that research showed double vaccination was similarly effective against both the Kent and Delta variants.
“The best scientific advice I have at this stage is that, after one jab, it’s not quite as effective against the new Delta variant, but after both jabs, it is,” Hancock told the BBC.
So far hospitalizations are “broadly flat”, with very few hospitalized after receiving both vaccine doses, he added.
The UK has so far given more than 27 million people two doses-more than 50% of adults-while more than 40 million have had one dose.
Hancock said the government was “taking clinical advice” on whether to extend the vaccination program to children over 12, who are believed to be playing a major role in spreading the virus. But this would not be mandatory, he added.
BD to buy 5 million doses of Sputnik V from Russia
UNB
Bangladesh wants to procure five million doses of Covid-19 vaccine – Sputnik V – from Russia as soon as possible.
“Health Ministry is working to that end,” said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, adding that Bangladeshi companies are also interested in co-production of vaccines with Russia if the approval is given.
Outgoing Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander I. Ignatov met the Foreign Minister at his office on Sunday and discussed the issue.
Brazil has become the 67th country where Sputnik V is authorised for use. Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.
The Foreign Minister sought cooperation from the outgoing Ambassador so that Bangladesh could procure vaccines from Russia quickly.
The Russian Ambassador is scheduled to leave Dhaka on June 8 as he wrapped up his tenure in Dhaka.
Earlier, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said 6.80 crore doses of coronavirus vaccine will be available from the Covax facility under the World Health Organisation for 20 percent of its population, that is, for 3.40 crore people. Out of this, 1.06 lakh doses have already been received.
Schools, colleges not reopening on June 13
News Desk
The government has decided not to reopen schools and colleges in Bangladesh on June 13, after deciding to extend the ongoing restrictions on public movement to curb further spread of Covid-19.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury
Nowfel confirmed the matter to the media on Sunday.
“Our educational institutions are not going to reopen on June 13. The decision on reopening will come following the advice of the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19,” he said.
The Cabinet on Sunday decided to extend the restrictions on public movement and gatherings, which were imposed on April 5, till June 16.
Earlier on May 27, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said the country’s schools and colleges, which have remaind closed since March 2020, could potentially be reopened on June 13, depending on the Covid-19 situation.
The second wave of the pandemic is still going strong in the country, with the health authorities reporting 38 more deaths and 1,676 new cases of the disease in the 24 hours to Sunday morning.
