Vaccine
Covid-19: Bangladesh sees rise in deaths as cases fall
Bangladesh logged 38 more coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the country's fatalities to 12,348.
The daily infection rate rose to 8.41% from Friday's 7.22%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, 1,028 new cases were reported after testing 12,230 samples.
Bangladesh reported 26 deaths on Friday after logging around 30 deaths for consecutive four days.
The fatality rate rose to 1.57% after remaining static at 1.56% for six days.
The recovery rate stood at 92.65% as 759 people recovered in the last 24 hours. The overall recovery number is 729,798 till date.
Bangladesh has so far reported 787,726 coronavirus cases
The country has carried out 5,805,407 sample tests since reporting its first cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
Read: India suffers double blow as black fungus declared epidemic amid COVID-19 surge
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one received the first dose of the vaccine while 41,467 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Vaccine supply update
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Friday reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh is desperately looking for vaccines and ready to accept any shipment from any country.
"A large number of people in Bangladesh, who took the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca, could not get the second dose because we have run out of supplies," the minister said.
Paying heed to Bangladesh’s request, China on Friday said it will send the second batch of 600,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine as gift.
The foreign minister on Thursday said the government was making its best efforts to get vaccines from multiple countries – the US, China, Canada, Russia and the UK – apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
Bangladesh received 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine as a gift on May 12. The administering of the shots will begin by May 25-26, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
Also, the country would receive a minimum of 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX scheme, co-led by Gavi, Maleque said May 18.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Services Division to import the Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
Bangladesh urgently seeks 1.6mn AstraZeneca doses from UK
After its request to the United States, Bangladesh has urged the United Kingdom (UK) to help it by providing vaccine doses to meet its emergency needs as the second dose vaccination is disrupted in Bangladesh.
"I’m not asking for too much, I’m only asking for 1.6m AstraZeneca doses that they have, they should immediately disburse those to Bangladesh so that people can have their second dose," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said in an interview with ITV News.
Dr Momen said his message to the UK government is that they should be more sincere. "They should help their Commonwealth member states."
He said Bangladesh is a good friend of the UK and so many Bangladeshis contribute to the UK economy. "… so the UK should come forward."
Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen described the vaccine situation in Bangladesh as a "crisis", adding: "We’re desperate."Bangladesh entered into a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to purchase 30 million doses of a potential vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca for Covid-19.
Read: Rozina to get fair judgement: FM tells CNN
Bangladesh was supposed to get five million doses of the vaccine per month as the SII and Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharma signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for priority delivery of the vaccine doses.
Bangladesh sought at least 3 million doses of the vaccine under the agreement to address the immediate demand in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has so far received only 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of the vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
"India is facing a very critical situation, very alarming… They’re finding it difficult, we can understand it,” Dr Momen said. "So, they’re failing to distribute the vaccine they promised to send us."
He told ITV News that the Bangladeshi government has appealed directly to the UK government for these required doses, but the request was ultimately rejected on the grounds that the UK government did not have the capacity.
"We’ve a belief that if the [UK] government tries, it can do it because they’ve the capacity," the Bangladesh Foreign Minister said.
Although Covid-19 daily cases in Bangladesh are relatively low and, according to the Foreign Minister, measures were in place to prevent the spread of the Indian variant into Bangladesh, the identification of six cases in Bangladesh earlier this month has concerned some experts.
On Friday, the Foreign Minister reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh desperately looks for vaccines desperately and is ready to accept any shipment desperately from any country, including the United States.
"We need it desperately. If any shipment comes, we’ll take it right away," he told CNN in a live interview.
Dr Momen said the big problem is that a large number of people in Bangladesh who took the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca could not get the second dose. "Because we don't have any more. We can't give them the second dose. That’s creating a lot of problems for us," said the Foreign Minister.
He said the government of Bangladesh is trying to get vaccines from other places and they were delighted when Bangladesh heard that the US will be distributing some of the AstraZeneca vaccines that they have.
Dr Momen said he had requested the US government and sent a letter to his counterpart US Secretary of State. "They agreed to give us by and large. "
Read: S Korean envoy shares historical documents with FM Momen
Now the problem is, he said, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking a long time to approve the export of AstraZeneca.
Dr Momen said they are thankful to US President Joe Biden for announcing that the USA will be distributing some of the AstraZeneca vaccine to developing countries, pretty large numbers - 60 million plus 20 around - 80 million vaccines. "This is good news for us."
Exploring Multiple Options On Thursday, Dr Momen said the government is making its best efforts to get vaccines connecting multiple countries - the United States, China, Canada and Russia the UK - apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
He said the discussion with China is almost at the final stage while they are expecting a positive reply from the US on the vaccine front.
While talking to reporters at State guesthouse Padma, Dr Momen said there are people who could not take the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to its short supply from India.
He also highlighted the ongoing discussion with Russia. "Hope, everything will be settled within a week."
Responding to a question, the Foreign Minister said they came to know unofficially that Bangladesh is not there on the priority list of the USA as there is a lesser number of deaths in Bangladesh.
"I didn't like the idea. They (US) don't think it's a crisis in Bangladesh," he said, adding that it is an emergency issue for Bangladesh.
US State Department Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security Gayle E Smith has said the United States is going to be the largest sharer of vaccines putting 80 million additional doses into the mix.
"I can’t tell you at this point what the allocation is going to be per country. We’ll have information for you later on. And as I think I mentioned, we are also, with respect to India and also India’s neighbours, mounting an emergency humanitarian response given the surges that are ongoing there," she said.
In a telephonic media briefing on Wednesday, Smith referred to an announcement by US President Joe Biden earlier this week that they will be sharing 20 million vaccine doses from their own stocks in addition to the 60 million AstraZeneca doses that were announced previously by the President.
"So that means we’re going to be putting 80 million additional vaccine doses into the mix, making us the largest sharer of vaccines thus far," she said.
The US official said given the surge there, India has been a major priority for the US. "We’ve delivered $100 million in emergency assistance; mobilised with the American private sector a pretty amazing response, again, from the American private sector and public, and we’ll continue to do so."
Read: More countries approached for vaccines; talks with China at final stage: FM
Smith said she does not have anything to say yet on the ultimate allocations, but they will reach out and make sure that all are informed when those decisions are made.
Responding to a question on India, Dr Momen said India did never say that they will not give vaccines to Bangladesh but failed to deliver.
He said India was requested to provide vaccine doses to Bangladesh as a gift to meet its emergency need if India has an embargo on export.
"I should say we had a very positive discussion (with my Indian counterpart," Dr Momen said.
Global Covid deaths near 3.4 million
The global death toll from Covid-19 is approaching 3.4 million, as the race for mass inoculations continues.
More than 3,399,194 people have died so far from the virus, while 163,952,478 cases have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Some 1,507,598,872 vaccine doses have been administered till Wednesday morning, according to the university.
The US has recorded 587,198 deaths since the pandemic began. Over 32,996,675 people have been found infected with the virus, if Johns Hopkins figures are to be believed.
India’s total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million on Tuesday. To be specific, the country’s total caseload currently stand at 25, 228,996, as per the data released by the government.
Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million
The numbers continue a trend of falling cases after infections dipped below 300,000 for the first time in weeks on Monday. Active cases in the country also decreased by more than 165,000 on Tuesday — the biggest dip in weeks, reports AP.
But deaths have continued to rise and hospitals are still swamped with patients. India has registered 278,719 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Brazil on Tuesday reported 2,513 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the national count to 439,050, the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry said that 75,445 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 15,732,836.
According to the ministry, Brazil now has a death rate of 208.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Tuesday registered 30 more coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours, pushing up the total fatalities to 12,211.
Besides, 1,272 new cases were detected during the period after testing 16,855 samples, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
The daily infection rate rose to 7.55 percent on Tuesday from Monday’s 6.75 percent.
With the new cases, the total caseload reached 7,28,129 while the total number of recoveries stood at 7,24,209, including 1,115 in the past 24 hours.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has now made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
In fact, the country, the prime recipient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one has received the first dose of the vaccine, while 64,377 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Dhaka requests Delhi to send vaccine to Bangladesh soon
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has requested his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar to ensure the supply of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Bangladesh as soon as possible to meet Bangladesh’s needs.
He made the request during a conversation over phone with the Indian External Affairs Minister, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.
Bangladesh entered into a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to purchase 30 million doses of a potential vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca for Covid-19.
Bangladesh was supposed to get five million doses of vaccine per month as the SII and Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharma signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for priority delivery of the vaccine doses.
Earlier, Bangladesh sought at least 3 million doses of vaccine under the agreement to address the immediate demand in Bangladesh.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks immediate delivery of 4 mn vaccine doses from US: FM
Bangladesh has so far received only 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
During the telephone conversation on Tuesday, Dr Jaishankar informed that he is aware of the demand for a second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in Bangladesh.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh has requested the United States to supply vaccines urgently since India could not supply vaccines to Bangladesh timely.
Dr Jaishankar assured Dr Momen of requesting the US to give the vaccine to Bangladesh as the Bangladesh Foreign Minister raised the issue with his Indian counterpart.
Dr Momen conveyed condolences over the deaths in India due to Covid-19 and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved families.
Meanwhile, a total of 1014 Bangladeshi-American professional doctors, engineers, professors and others, led by Dr AFM Haque, have submitted a plea to the White House requesting the US Administration to send the vaccine to Bangladesh.
Also read: Deal with Russia soon over Covid vaccine: Health Minister
On the other hand, the US branch of Bangabandhu Foundation, Muktijoddha Council and Sheikh Rahman, Member of the Georgia State Senate also requested the White House to give vaccine doses to Bangladesh.
Expatriates Bangladeshis in the USA came to know that Bangladesh is not in the priority list of the US due to the low rate of infection and deaths in Bangladesh.
CoWIN portal in Hindi, 14 regional languages soon
The CoWIN platform, which is the backbone of the Covid-19 vaccine delivery system in the country, will be made available in Hindi and 14 regional languages by next week, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Monday.
The official made the announcement at a high-level meeting chaired by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan with a group of ministers on the Covid situation, reports Hindustan Times.
“This was in the pipeline for some time keeping in mind the convenience of people who are not comfortable with the English language. The portal will be tweaked accordingly,” a government official familiar with the developments said, requesting anonymity.
Vardhan, meanwhile, told the meeting that the Centre has decided to add 17 more laboratories to the Indian Sars-Cov-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) to scale up genome sequencing of samples of Covid-19 patients, taking the network of advanced laboratories to 27 across the country.
Read:Glimmer of hope seen in India, but virus crisis not over yet
“Seventeen new labs are going to be added to the INSACOG network to increase the number of samples screened and allow for more spatial analysis. The network is presently served by 10 labs located at different corners of the country,” he said.
Read: Hundreds of bodies found buried along Indian riverbanks
Coronavirus: Taiwan has another jump, capital closing schools
Taiwan reported 333 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases Monday, in the island’s largest outbreak since the start of the pandemic.
Local governments ordered the closure of all schools in the capital for two weeks starting Tuesday. The largescale school closure is a first for the island, which has otherwise been a success story, keeping infections and deaths low. It has counted 2,017 confirmed cases and 12 deaths throughout the pandemic.
Read: Covid-19: Global cases close to 163 million
Of Monday’s new cases, 158 were in Taipei and 148 were found in neighboring New Taipei city, Health minister Chen Shih-chung said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— A dip in cases is bringing a glimmer of hope in India, but shortage of beds, oxygen show virus crisis isn’t over yet
— UK readies for major reopening Monday but new variant sparks worry
— Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccine candidate triggered strong immune responses; production to begin soon
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
NEW DELHI — For the first time in weeks, India’s daily cases dropped below 300,000, continuing a decline as the country battles a ferocious surge of COVID-19.
The health ministry said around 280,000 cases and 4,106 deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours. Both numbers are almost certainly undercounts.
Read: Glimmer of hope seen in India, but virus crisis not over yet
India’s overall vaccination efforts are also struggling. Ever since the country opened vaccinations to all adults this month, the pace of administering doses has plunged, with many states saying they don’t have enough stock to give out. Over the last month, cases have tripled and deaths have jumped by six times — but vaccinations have dropped by 40%.
The southern state of Karnataka has suspended vaccinations for the 18-44 age group in government-run centers, and a number of states are looking into directly getting shots from overseas to fill a domestic shortage. On Sunday, health officials said around 5 million doses will be sent to the states this week.
India has the second-highest caseload after the U.S. with more than 24 million confirmed infections and over 270,000 fatalities.
BEIJING — China is instituting new controls in a northeastern province where several new cases of COVID-19 are believed to have originated.
China on Monday reported five new cases of local transmission, all in Liaoning province or believed to be linked to its cases.
Checkpoints were set up at toll stations, airports and railway stations in three cities in Liaoning and travelers must have proof of a recent negative virus test, according to state media reports Monday. Mass testing was ordered in part of Yingkou, a port city with shipping connections to more than 40 countries.
Read: Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death
China had largely stamped out domestic transmission of the coronavirus through restrictions on the public, contact tracing, mass testing and, increasingly, vaccinations. Health officials suspect the domestic cases may have spread through contacts with an imported case.
China has reported 90,872 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,636 deaths since the virus was detected in Wuhan in late 2019.
31 more lose lives to Covid, death toll reaches 12,076
Covid-19 claimed 31 more lives in Bangladesh, including 13 in Dhaka division, in the past 24 hours until Thursday morning, showing a fall in fatalities compared to the previous day.
The country saw 40 Covid deaths on Wednesday and 33 on Tuesday. The latest number took the official Covid-related death count to 12,076.
However, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.55%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh also confirmed 778,687 Covid-19 cases with 1,290 people coming out positive in 13,371 tests over the same period.
The daily infection rate rose to 9.58% from Wednesday's 7.45%, while the recovery rate stood at 92.41%.
Bangladesh has so far carried out 5,690,693 tests since reporting its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 last year and the first fatality from the virus on the 18th of the month.
Also read: India returnee tests Covid-19 positive in N’ganj, house put under lockdown
The country experienced a surge in Covid-19 cases in April and the daily cases fell below 2,000 in early May. Also, it has been seeing below 60 daily deaths for a week after recording over 100 fatalities on several occasions in April.
Dhaka hit hardest
Dhaka has remained the worst-hit division, recording 6,985 fatalities or 57.84% of the total deaths until now. Of the total daily deaths, 13 deaths were reported from Dhaka alone and nine from Chattogram.
Lockdown falls flat ahead of Eid
The nationwide lockdown, imposed on April 4 to break the chain of Covid-19 infections and fatalities, has been extended till May 16 to limit public movement or contain the surge in daily infections.
Officials of all government, semi-government autonomous and private organisations, banks and financial institutions have been asked not to leave their workstations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
However, the lockdown measures fell flat ahead of the upcoming Eid celebrations.
The DGHS has expressed concerns that mass travel could lead to a resurgence of infections as the restrictions could not deter people from travelling to their village homes ignoring health risks.
Also read: Covid-19 claims 40 more lives, infects 1,144 others
At least five people died and 50 others injured Wednesday in a stampede as thousands of people returned to their native villages from Dhaka and other cities for Eid-ul-Fitr, defying Covid-19 restrictions.
Vaccination drive
In late January, countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka started receiving vaccine doses through donations from India and other countries and commercial deals.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But India temporarily halted exports of vaccines on March 24 to prioritise domestic requirements, following an explosion in Covid cases and fatalities in the country. The move has left the region with a serious shortage of vaccines.
The administering of the first dose in Bangladesh has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
5 lakh Chinese vaccine doses arrive
Bangladesh on Wednesday received 5 lakh doses of China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine as a gift.
The development came after the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use, giving a nod for it to be rolled out globally.
Bangladesh was initially reluctant to receive the Chinese vaccine until it got the WHO green signal but the second wave of the pandemic forced the country's health authorities to approve the jabs alongside Russia's Sputnik vaccine to continue its vaccination drive.
South Asia: The new global hotspot?
South Asia, home to a quarter of the world's population, is fast becoming the new global hotspot of the Covid-19 pandemic. Extremely low vaccination rates across South Asia have also put millions of lives in the region at risk.
Also read: Indian states asked to stop people from dumping bodies of COVID-19 victims into Ganga
India and Nepal's healthcare systems are reaching breaking point. The virus is spreading and crossing borders at a frightening speed. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are also seeing a surge.
The new Indian variant of coronavirus has been detected in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, prompting authorities to axe travel corridors with India. It has been designated a variant of concern by the WHO that might be more contagious than most versions of the coronavirus.
Bangladesh thanks China; seeks larger amount of vaccine doses
Extending thanks to the Chinese government for providing 5 lakh doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine as a gift, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said Bangladesh wants a larger amount of vaccine doses from China.
"We’re very thankful to them. We’re thankful to China. They’ve been very cooperative to us. We look forward to many more vaccine doses from China," he said.
Dr Momen said China has the capacity and competency to produce vaccines on a large scale and he has no doubt that Bangladesh will get more vaccine doses as China agreed.
Read: 500 thousand doses of China’s gifted vaccine arrive in Bangladesh
The Foreign Minister was addressing the vaccine handover ceremony participated by Health Minister Zahid Maleque and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming.
Acknowledging China's vaccine capacity, Dr Momen also shared Bangladesh's interest to go for co-production in Bangladesh.
The vaccine doses, donated by the Chinese government to Bangladesh, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning.
Ready to offer more support if Covid situation deteriorates in Bangladesh: China
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said China is ready to help Bangladesh with more medical supplies, including medical oxygen, if the situation gets worse as it is facing the second wave of Covid-19.
“China is ready to offer more, if needed,” he said, recalling how Bangladesh and China helped each other in dealing with the first wave of Covid-19.
Read:Chinese Embassy invites essays from Bangladeshi friends
Ambassador Li said they will do whatever they can during the second wave of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
He said this pandemic unseen in a century is a global challenge, and past experience keeps reminding them that only through cooperation within the international community they can embrace victory.
“Bangladesh has done what it can to fight the pandemic, and it’s my strong conviction that with the joint efforts of the people of Bangladesh and government, and the help of the international community, Bangladesh’s V-Day over Covid-19 will be just around the corner,” said the Chinese Ambassador.
He made the remarks during a virtual programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) on Monday. DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event.
The Ambassador said it is believed that the safe and reliable Chinese vaccine will play a positive role in the construction of Bangladesh’s anti-epidemic defence line, help the people of Bangladesh to overcome the epidemic, and continue the friendship story between the two countries.
He said, “The virus respects no boundary, and we’re all in this together. Solidarity and cooperation are our most powerful weapon in this war.”
The envoy said China hopes all parties will take real action, provide more vaccines to developing countries, including Bangladesh, and contribute to the equitable distribution and application of vaccines across the world so that we can defeat the virus at an early date.
Some 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines gifted by the Chinese government to Bangladesh will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Ambassador Li said it is a concrete step towards honoring President Xi Jinping’s pledge of making Covid-19 vaccines a global public good, a solid action taken by both sides towards building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a powerful measure to implement the consensus reached in the recent virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Covid-19.
Read:5 lakh doses of Chinese vaccine to arrive on May 12: Envoy
This vaccine gift (Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine) is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group.
The World Health Organization (WHO) listed the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally. The Sinopharm product is an inactivated vaccine called SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell).
He said its efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalised disease was estimated to be over 79%, all age groups combined and its easy storage requirements make it highly suitable for low-resource settings.
The envoy said it is also the first vaccine that will carry a vaccine vial monitor, a small sticker on the vaccine vials that change color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, letting health workers know whether the vaccine can be safely used.
Last year, at China’s most trying moments, Bangladesh was among the first countries to donate medical supplies to China in a great act of valuable support.
When the epidemic situation in China eased, China supported Bangladesh’s fight against the virus through various means including gifting medical supplies and sending medical experts.
China offered to gift vaccines to Bangladesh in February but the Embassy did not get the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) from the government of Bangladesh until April 30.
Though facing difficulties of huge domestic demand and a tight supply of international market, China decided to give priority to ensuring that the vaccines arrive in Bangladesh as soon as possible, said the Ambassador.
He said although it was the May Day holiday in China (five days), many Chinese workers worked overtime and sacrificed personal rest time to rush out these vaccines in less than two weeks.
Read:Beijing wants Dhaka not to join Quad
The Ambassador said it is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and with the great spirit of fighting the pandemic that they are able to conquer the virus.
The year 2021 marks the birth centenary of the CPC which, in the days to come, will continue leading the Chinese people to work relentlessly to fight the pandemic, promote global economic recovery and defend peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom which are shared values of humanity, he said.
GM Quader seeks govt support for local vaccine Bangavax
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Sunday urged the government to extend its necessary support to local company Globe Biotech so that it can succeed in developing its vaccine - Bangavax.
In a statement, he voiced resentment as Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) is not giving approval to the company for conducting a clinical trial of the vaccine.
“The people of the country want to know in whose interest the trial of Bangavax is not taking place though four months have elapsed (since it has sought permission). The government should extend support for the success of the locally developed vaccine alongside importing foreign ones to prevent the coronavirus,” he said.
The Jatiya Party chief said Globe Biotech applied to the BMRCH for ist approval to carry out a clinical trial in January last. “But the permission has not been given yet for reasons unknown.”
Even, he said, the World Health Organization has listed Bangavax as a potential vaccine for corona prevention.
Also read: Take mega projects to improve healthcare system: GM Quader
On December 26 last year, GM Quader said the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) also allowed Globe Biotech to produce a vaccine for the trial. “But Bangavax cannot make any breakthrough for lack of BMRC’s permission.”
Citing researchers of Globe Biotech, the Jatiya Party chairman said a single dose Bangavax found effective in developing antibodies during the animal trial of the vaccine.
“The researchers expect to have similar results in clinical trials. As the one-dose vaccine Bangavax is made synthetically, it’s virus-free and 100% halal,” he said.
GM Quader said the government should help the company produce its vaccine. “If Bangavax succeeds in the clinical trial, it’ll be possible to export it abroad by meeting the local demand.”
Also read: GM Quader for effective steps to prevent waterway accidents
He also said Bangladesh's Bangavax can come to the global spotlight by exhibiting its efficiency in preventing the coronavirus.