Serum Institute of India
Covid vaccine: Dhaka agrees on Beijing’s proposal to set up emergency storage facility
Bangladesh, in principle, has agreed on a Chinese proposal to set up an "Emergency COVID-19 Vaccine Storage Facility" to ensure quick supply of vaccines among the South Asian countries during emergency.
Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which are not producing Covid vaccines, have also received a similar proposal from China and agreed on it.
“We said we don’t have any objection. We, in principle, like it (the proposal). Any country might have an emergency need,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Thursday.
Also read: Nothing to worry about vaccine stock: FM
Bangladesh received the proposal on April 15 and a minister-level meeting will be held on April 27, he said.
The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh sought further details on the proposal, noting that there was a meeting at the secretary level in this regard.
Dr Momen said a minister-level meeting will be held on April 27 to discuss the proposal in detail.
Also read: Will do our best to support vaccine rollout in neighbouring countries: India
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Thursday said China has taken note of the “recent grave situation” in India with a temporary shortage of anti-epidemic medical supplies.
“We stand ready to provide India with necessary support and assistance to get the epidemic under control,” he said.
Dr Momen said China will give 6 lakh doses of vaccine as a gift and hoped that Bangladesh will get a vaccine through commercial purchase soon.
Also read: Covid vaccines should be declared as global public goods: PM Hasina
Bangladesh has received 7 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
This is the largest amount sent from India to any country.
Nothing to worry about vaccine stock: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said there is no reason to be worried about Covid-19 vaccine stock, noting that Bangladesh will have enough vaccine jabs as planned, including a gift of 6 lakh doses from China.
“We’ve enough stock. We’ve made a lineup. We’ll have enough. China will give 6 lakh doses of vaccine as a gift. We don’t have to worry about it... we’re okay,” he said.
Bangladesh has received 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 vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
This is the largest amount sent from India to any country.
Talking to reporters at his residence, Dr Momen said the two health ministries of Russia and Bangladesh agreed in principle on the proposal of vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh.
Also read: Will do our best to support vaccine rollout in neighbouring countries: India
“We’re on the same page. Our Health Ministry knows the details. Things will be finalised by the Health Ministry,” said the Foreign Minister.
He said Bangladesh will also purchase vaccine doses from Russia.
Talking to UNB last week, the Foreign Minister revealed that Russia proposed Bangladesh to go for a co-production of vaccines. “It’s not bad. We’re keeping our options open.”
He said Russia will give the technology and Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies will produce the Russian vaccine here if things go well. “It’ll be cheap and hopefully it’ll be better.”
Responding to a question on discussion with the USA, Dr Momen said the United States has assured of making Covid-19 vaccines available for other countries, including Bangladesh, once they have surplus reaching the level of mass vaccination in the US.
“I can assure you when we can reach the level of the critical mass vaccination and we’ve surplus, we’ll absolutely make vaccines available in whatever different ways,” John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate told reporters during his recent visit to Bangladesh.
Also read: Covid vaccines should be declared as global public goods: PM Hasina
Despite high demand in India, Bangladesh hopes that India will supply the rest of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) to Bangladesh as agreed between the two countries but keeps other options open.
Bangladesh has purchased three crore doses of the vaccine from Serum Institute and the first shipment of 50 lakh arrived here in January last week while the second consignment of 20 lakh doses of Covid-19 came in February.
The Foreign Minister acknowledged the high demand for vaccines globally, including the demand by some political leaders in India to halt export.
“I think it won’t be applicable for us as we made arrangements and made advance payment. India announced the vaccine will be delivered as per schedule. And we believe it,” Dr Momen said.
Once China had shown much interest to give vaccines to Bangladesh but Bangladesh was reluctant at that time as their vaccine was not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), he said.
Also read: Hopeful of getting rest of vaccine doses from India as scheduled: FM
Dr Momen said China administered vaccines for their vast population, which they say without any side-effects apart from proving their vaccine to over 50 countries. “We’re continuing discussion with them (China) again so that they can help us.”
India has also approved the use of Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.
Bangladesh was one of the few countries to get the vaccine first joining hands with its neighbour India amid high demand for it globally.
“It could have been possible due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s prudent leadership and farsightedness. She took the initiative from day one,” Dr Momen added.
Hopeful of getting rest of vaccine doses from India as scheduled: FM
Despite its high demand in India, Dhaka hopes that New Delhi will supply the rest of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) to Bangladesh as agreed between the two countries with other options open.
“India is telling us that it’ll (March consignment) come but yet to arrive. We believe in their assurance,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told UNB in an interview at his residence.
He said Bangladesh received 3.2 million doses of vaccine as a gift from India but the consignment of 5 million doses that was scheduled to arrive in March from India is yet to come.
Read Covishield and Covaxin: What we know about India's Covid-19 vaccines
Bangladesh has purchased three crore doses of the vaccine from the Serum Institute and the first shipment of 50 lakh arrived here in January last week while the second consignment of 20 lakh doses of Covid-19 came in February.
The Foreign Minister acknowledged the high demand of vaccines globally, including the demand by some political leaders in India to halt export.
“I think it won’t be applicable for us as we’ve made arrangements and made advance payment. India announced the vaccine will be delivered as per schedule. And we believe it,” Dr Momen said.
Also read: Funding for vaccine procurement earmarked in deals with WB, ADB: Dr Meerjady
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to place an immediate moratorium on the export of vaccines, fast track approval of other vaccines and open up vaccination to everyone who needs it.
COVAX reaches over 100 economies, 42 days after first international delivery
More than one hundred economies have received life-saving COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, says the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday.
The milestone comes 42 days after the first COVAX doses were shipped and delivered internationally, to Ghana on 24 February 2021.
COVAX has now delivered more than 38 million doses across six continents, supplied by three manufacturers, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Of the over 100 economies reached, 61 are among the 92 lower-income economies receiving vaccines funded through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
Despite reduced supply availability in March and April – the result of vaccine manufacturers scaling and optimizing their production processes in the early phase of the rollout, as well as increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines in India – COVAX expects to deliver doses to all participating economies that have requested vaccines in the first half of the year.
Also read: Covishield and Covaxin: What we know about India's Covid-19 vaccines
“In four months since the very first mass vaccination outside a clinical setting anywhere in the world, it is tremendously gratifying that the roll-out of COVAX doses has already reached one hundred countries,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Berkley said COVAX may be on track to deliver to all participating economies in the first half of the year yet they still face a daunting challenge as they seek to end the acute stage of the pandemic: they will only be safe when everybody is safe and our efforts to rapidly accelerate the volume of doses depend on the continued support of governments and vaccine manufacturers.
“As we continue with the largest and most rapid global vaccine rollout in history, this is no time for complacency.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said COVAX has given the world the best way to ensure the fastest, most equitable rollout of safe and effective vaccines to all at-risk people in every country on the planet.
Also read: ‘We sink or we swim together’: 5 things you need to know about COVAX
“If we are going to realize this great opportunity, countries, producers and the international system must come together to prioritize vaccine supply through COVAX. Our collective future, literally, depends on it.”
Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) this is a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19. “Faced with the rapid spread of COVID-19 variants, global access to vaccines is fundamentally important to reduce the prevalence of the disease, slow down viral mutation, and hasten the end of the pandemic.”
“In just a month and a half, the ambition of granting countries access to COVID vaccines is becoming a reality, thanks to the outstanding work of our partners in the COVAX Facility,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
“However, this is no time to celebrate; it is time to accelerate. With variants emerging all over the world, we need to speed up global rollout. To do this, we need governments, along with other partners, to take necessary steps to increase supply, including by simplifying barriers to intellectual property rights, eliminating direct and indirect measures that restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccines, and donating excess vaccine doses as quickly as possible.”
Also read: WHO calls for prioritising vaccine contracts with COVAX
According to its latest supply forecast, COVAX expects to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines in 2021. In order to reach this goal, the COVAX Facility will continue to diversify its portfolio further, and will announce new agreements with vaccine manufacturers in due course.
Furthermore, in March it was announced that the United States government will host the launch event for the 2021 Gavi COVAX AMC Invest Opportunity to catalyze further commitment and support for accelerated access to vaccines for AMC-supported economies.
An additional US$ 2 billion is required in 2021 to finance and secure up to a total of 1.8 billion donor-funded doses of vaccines. COVAX is also working to secure additional sourcing of vaccines in the form of dose-sharing from higher income countries.
African expert warns of 'vaccine war' over access to jabs
The head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against a “vaccine war” among nations amid renewed fears vaccine shipments to the continent face delays.
John Nkengasong said in a briefing Thursday that he “truly feels helpless that this situation is going to significantly impact our ability to fight this virus," referring to reports that the Serum Institute of India is suspending major exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in order to meet rising demand at home.
“Without ramping (up) access to vaccines we will be challenged, continue to be challenged. Lives will be lost,” Dr. Nkengasong said, noting that he remains hopeful "the power of humanity will prevail.”
Also read: Virus variants, vaccine inequity responsible for rising Covid caseload: WHO
He added: “There is absolutely no need, absolutely no need for us as humanity to go into a vaccine war to fight this pandemic. We will all be losers.”
The Serum Institute of India produces the AstraZeneca shots being shipped to Africa through the international COVAX initiative to ensure vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries. At least 28 of Africa's 54 countries have received over 16 million doses via COVAX as of Thursday.
Vaccine shipments through COVAX continue to arrive across Africa. South Sudan, for example, on Thursday received its first batch of 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in what WHO called “a giant step” toward equitable destruction of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
But COVAX has been facing delays related to the limited global supply of vaccine doses as well as logistical issues. That’s why some countries such as South Africa, the hardest-hit African nation, are also pursuing COVID-19 vaccines via bilateral deals and through the African Union’s bulk-purchasing program.
Also read: Leaders of "Quad" agree to aid vaccine delivery to developing nation
At least 10 African countries are yet to receive vaccines, according to the World Health Organization's regional office for Africa. Those countries include Tanzania, Burundi, Eritrea, Cameroon, and Chad.
The continent has "has received limited doses and much later than the rest of the world,” Dr. Richard Mihigo, a program coordinator in charge of immunization and vaccine development with WHO's Africa office, said in a briefing Thursday.
“We are concerned that while COVAX vaccinations have enabled many African countries to roll out vaccinations, the slow pace of vaccine supply we are now seeing risks widening the gap between the world's vaccinated and the unvaccinated populations,” he said, charging that it's unfair that some wealthy nations “are looking to vaccinate their entire populations” while Africa continues to lag behind.
There are ongoing discussions between WHO, the global vaccine alliance GAVI and Indian authorities aimed at ensuring COVAX shipments continue to be prioritized, the official said.
Africa hopes to vaccinate 60% of its 1.3 billion people by mid-2022 in order to achieve herd immunity, when enough people are protected through infection or vaccination to make it difficult for a virus to continue to spread. That amounts to about 1.5 billion vaccine doses.
That target almost certainly will not be met without widespread use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which many experts see as key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is cheaper and easier to store than many others. It will make up nearly all of the doses shipped in the first half of the year via COVAX.
Experts have warned that until vaccination rates are high the world over, the virus remains a threat everywhere.
“We are all in this together. This is a global pandemic, and we need to solve it through global vaccination, global public health methods," said Anthony Costello, a professor of global health and sustainable development at University College London.
Also read: AstraZeneca confirms strong vaccine protection after US rift
Costello told the WHO briefing that while Africa, with its much younger population, is seeing lower death rates than other regions, "we must put pressure on wealthy countries to ensure that they offer the finance and the assistance to Africa to get the required number of vaccines.”
Africa has confirmed more than 4 million cases of COVID-19, including 110,000 deaths, according to the Africa CDC.
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