Staff Reporter :
The Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been approved in the U.K., paving the way for widespread vaccinations with a homegrown shot that is cheaper and easier to transport and store than other vaccines.
The U.K. government’s department of health and social care said in a statement on Wednesday that “the Government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorize Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use.”
The vaccine is considered vital for vaccination efforts in developing countries because it is cheaper to make and easier to store for long periods of time as it only requires normal refrigeration temperature to remain viable, making distribution easier.
The approval was a “triumph for British science”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
“It is truly fantastic news – and a triumph for British science – that the @UniofOxford/@AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use,” Johnson tweeted.
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use,” the health ministry said.
Meanwhile, health experts in Bangladesh on Thursday termed the approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the UK as ‘good news’ and said that the approval pave the way of vaccine’s rollout in the country.
On 13 December, an agreement was signed for collecting three crore COVID-19 vaccine doses developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
Under the agreement, Bangladesh government will get thirty million COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India. Bangladesh would get 5 million vaccines per month from the institute.
In the initial six months of the first phase, Serum will provide 50 lakh vaccine doses per month to Bangladesh through Beximco.
“This is a good news for us as Bangladesh is purchasing Oxford vaccine through India’s Serum Institute,” Professor Nazrul Islam, noted Bangladeshi virologist and member of National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, told The New Nation.
He added: “As the vaccine got approval in the UK, it has now become easier for us to get it. We hope this vaccine will be safe for us too as the UK, a nation with good scientific background, has approved it for using it for their people.”
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can be up to 80 per cent effective with a delay between doses – UK official
“We have to test the vaccine before mass use or need to take permission from any developed nations as per our vaccine policy. UK is a developed country, so we can use the Oxford vaccine on emergency basis. Besides, we can use the vaccine here on the basis of UK approval as WHO nod might take time,” the virologist added.
Commenting on the issue, Professor Sayedur Rahman, chairman of Department of Pharmacology in BSMMU, said, “The vaccine developed by Oxford is good for countries like ours as it is relatively cheaper and can be stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees centigrade.”
Health and family welfare minister Zahid Maleque said Bangladesh will collect fifty to sixty million COVID-19 vaccine doses, developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, by June next year.
“The UK government has given approval to COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca… We will get the vaccine soon after getting approval from the WHO (World Health Organization),” he told a function at the BCPS auditorium in Mohakhali in the city, an official release said.
Secretary of the health service division Md Abdul Mannan, secretary of health education division Md Ali Noor, among others, were present at the function with director general of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam in the chair.
Maleque said, “This is good news for us as the UK government has given approval of COVID-19 vaccine… Bangladesh will collect the vaccine through the Serum Institute of India (SII).”
“The vaccine of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is suitable for our weather condition….we will collect three crore vaccine in phases,” he said.
On 5 November, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for collecting these three crore COVID-19 vaccine doses from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. The MoU was signed among the Bangladesh Government, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BPL) and the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The health ministry sources said 15 million people will be administered by these thirty million vaccine doses. As each person needs to be vaccinated twice they said, adding 50 lakh people in the country will be administered per month.
The Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been approved in the U.K., paving the way for widespread vaccinations with a homegrown shot that is cheaper and easier to transport and store than other vaccines.
The U.K. government’s department of health and social care said in a statement on Wednesday that “the Government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorize Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use.”
The vaccine is considered vital for vaccination efforts in developing countries because it is cheaper to make and easier to store for long periods of time as it only requires normal refrigeration temperature to remain viable, making distribution easier.
The approval was a “triumph for British science”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
“It is truly fantastic news – and a triumph for British science – that the @UniofOxford/@AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use,” Johnson tweeted.
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use,” the health ministry said.
Meanwhile, health experts in Bangladesh on Thursday termed the approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the UK as ‘good news’ and said that the approval pave the way of vaccine’s rollout in the country.
On 13 December, an agreement was signed for collecting three crore COVID-19 vaccine doses developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
Under the agreement, Bangladesh government will get thirty million COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India. Bangladesh would get 5 million vaccines per month from the institute.
In the initial six months of the first phase, Serum will provide 50 lakh vaccine doses per month to Bangladesh through Beximco.
“This is a good news for us as Bangladesh is purchasing Oxford vaccine through India’s Serum Institute,” Professor Nazrul Islam, noted Bangladeshi virologist and member of National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, told The New Nation.
He added: “As the vaccine got approval in the UK, it has now become easier for us to get it. We hope this vaccine will be safe for us too as the UK, a nation with good scientific background, has approved it for using it for their people.”
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can be up to 80 per cent effective with a delay between doses – UK official
“We have to test the vaccine before mass use or need to take permission from any developed nations as per our vaccine policy. UK is a developed country, so we can use the Oxford vaccine on emergency basis. Besides, we can use the vaccine here on the basis of UK approval as WHO nod might take time,” the virologist added.
Commenting on the issue, Professor Sayedur Rahman, chairman of Department of Pharmacology in BSMMU, said, “The vaccine developed by Oxford is good for countries like ours as it is relatively cheaper and can be stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees centigrade.”
Health and family welfare minister Zahid Maleque said Bangladesh will collect fifty to sixty million COVID-19 vaccine doses, developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, by June next year.
“The UK government has given approval to COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca… We will get the vaccine soon after getting approval from the WHO (World Health Organization),” he told a function at the BCPS auditorium in Mohakhali in the city, an official release said.
Secretary of the health service division Md Abdul Mannan, secretary of health education division Md Ali Noor, among others, were present at the function with director general of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam in the chair.
Maleque said, “This is good news for us as the UK government has given approval of COVID-19 vaccine… Bangladesh will collect the vaccine through the Serum Institute of India (SII).”
“The vaccine of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is suitable for our weather condition….we will collect three crore vaccine in phases,” he said.
On 5 November, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for collecting these three crore COVID-19 vaccine doses from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. The MoU was signed among the Bangladesh Government, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BPL) and the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The health ministry sources said 15 million people will be administered by these thirty million vaccine doses. As each person needs to be vaccinated twice they said, adding 50 lakh people in the country will be administered per month.
