COVID-19 vaccine Bangladesh
Bangavax trial turning into ‘monkey business’ for Globe?
Collecting animals for vaccine trial turned into a 'monkey business' for Globe Biotech Ltd as five of their employees were assaulted by locals following their unannounced arrival in Gazipur on Sunday.
" Although Globe was given permission to collect monkeys from Gazipur forests, we did not know they were coming on Sunday," said an official of the local wildlife department Tabibur Rahman.
The incident took place in Barmi Bazar area under Sreepur upazila of the district.
Read: Biotech's Covid vaccine to get conditional approval for human trials
According to local sources, hundreds of people in the area got agitated and surrounded the Globe employees upon receiving information that an unidentified group was putting monkeys inside cages after pushing them with anaesthetic injections.
Later police rushed to the spot and rescued the Globe employees.
Globe Pharmaceuticals Ltd Media Consultant Anisur Rahman, one of the employees, portrayed the situation as more or less like an extortion.
Read: Covid-19: Globe Biotech gets nod to manufacture vaccine for clinical trial
“Some of the locals demanded money from us and physically assaulted us when we refused,” he claimed.
However, locals claimed that they mistook the Globe employees as poachers and were enraged observing their attitude towards the monkeys.
Abul Hashem, president of the Barmi Bazar Merchants' Association, denied allegations and said that the incident could have easily been avoided if local administrations were informed earlier.
The OC of the Sreepur police station also confirmed the incident to UNB.
“We rescued five of them and later let them go after verifying their identities,” he said.
Globe Biotech received a licence to produce their potential vaccine for trial on December 28 last year, and subsequently applied for ethical clearance to begin clinical trials (on human subjects) on January 17. That however was held up for a long time. It was only in June that the Bangladesh Medical Research Council, which oversees all such trials, got back to them with certain conditions that had to be met before the clinical trials could go ahead.
The key condition was that Globe would have to run trials on monkeys or chimpanzees first. Although grudgingly at first, Globe was left with no choice but to meet the condition. One of the bottlenecks the company identified at the time was that the country did not have a third-party clinical research organization (CRO) that could conduct such tests on animals. They would however look to engage one from abroad, they said.
Yesterday's incident raises a few questions- one being why no legal actions have been taken if the Globe employees were assaulted, and secondly how exactly Globe are planning to conduct their trials. The use of their own employees - with positions in the media and administration departments - to catch the monkeys for trial suggests they are not engaging a CRO for the job, even though that is the usual practice.
Globe at one stage had entered into an agreement with a firm called Clinical Research Organisation Bangladesh to conduct the human trials component of developing Bangavax, but eventually that got scrapped.
The Animal Welfare Act of 2019 makes certain exceptions to allow for the use of animals for research purposes, and is silent on how they are to be sourced. Even the BMRC has no specific guidelines on animal testing.
Globally, most animals used in research are specifically bred for use in medical research, and there are specific ethical considerations for conducting such trials. But the way they are going about the job of collecting their subjects suggests Globe is paying them scant attention.
Most importantly, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change did permit them to source 56 monkeys for clinical trials of their vaccine Bangavax, in the way that they did. They had the necessary No-Objection Certificates to prove it.
They have already collected 30 monkeys from the Bhawal National Park and the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park.
Vaccines start arriving in fulfilment of prime minister’s commitment, says Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Saturday said that corona vaccines have started arriving in the country as promised by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"Already 2.5 million doses of vaccine have reached the country, more vaccines will come in a few days," he said during his regular briefing from his official residence.
Read: Obaidul Quader pleased by 'development-friendly' budget
Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, urged the people to adhere to corona health rules and stay home to prevent high rates of infection during the ongoing lockdown.
Turning to BNP, the AL leader said that the opposition party’s only job is to dispute the government’s achievements. This has become their ploy to divert people’s attention from their failures, he said.
He alleged that BNP has continued to spread lies to confuse people about corona pandemic and government’s sincere efforts to handle the situation.
Read: Obaidul Quader: Covid vaccines to be collected, no matter what
Meanwile, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday night received the first consignment of 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine under the COVAX framework.
This consignment is part of the US government's recent allocation of 25 million vaccine doses for countries in Asia through COVAX.
Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of 2mn doses of Sinopharm vaccine
Bangladesh has received its first consignment of two million doses of Sinopharm vaccine.
A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with the vaccines from China at around 12:40am Saturday.
Read: 'It's just the beginning': US ambassador on Moderna shipment's arrival
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque received the vaccine doses on behalf of the government.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and other high officials of the government were also there to receive the Sinopharm vaccine doses purchased from China.
Read: Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses
The government has so far approved the emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinopharm (China), Sputnik-V (Russia), Pfizer-BioNTech (USA/Germany) and Crona Vac (China) vaccines.
'It's just the beginning': US ambassador on Moderna shipment's arrival
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller has said the arrival of 2.5 million doses of the US biotech firm Moderna's highly successful vaccine for Covid-19 through the COVAX facility is only the beginning.
"The United States understands the urgency of getting as many safe and effective vaccines to Bangladesh as quickly as possible," he said while addressing a reception at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday night.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received the first consignment of 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine under the COVAX framework.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Secretary of Health Services Division Lokman Hossain Miah, and other high officials of Bangladesh government were also present.
READ:Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses
The second consignment arrived on Saturday morning.
Ambassador Miller said the United States has been Bangladesh’s closest partner for the past five decades working to improve public health.
"Today, at this uniquely challenging moment in history, our partnership is more important than ever," he said.
Miller said he is proud to join with partners and leaders from the Government of Bangladesh to continue to work together to build a world safer and more secure against the threat of infectious disease.
READ:Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of 2mn doses of Sinopharm vaccine
"We do so for the people of Bangladesh, the people of America, for all people on this precious vulnerable world we are privileged and responsible to share and protect," said the US Ambassador.
Bangladesh unlikely to reach Covid herd immunity anytime soon: Expert
Although its study suggests around 71 percent of Dhaka city dwellers have already gained antibodies for coronavirus, an icddr,b scientist says herd immunity threshold is still out of reach in Bangladesh’s capital, let alone the whole country to reach it.
Dr Rubhana Raqib, a senior scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), also says it may not be possible to attain the long-term herd immunity for Covid-19 as long as the virus continues to mutate as she thinks highly contagious new variants can break people’s immune protection gained either from the previous infections or vaccination.
Read: Bangladesh far away from herd immunity
In an interview with UNB, she also said it is generally assumed that Covid-19 may remain active like influenza and other flues for a long time and it is quite possible that people will need to receive the vaccine at a regular interval until the virus loses its mutation or virulence capability.
icddr,b conducted a study titled “Driving Factors of Covid-19 in Slums and Non-Slum Areas of Dhaka and Chittagong,” between October 2020 and February 2021 to evaluate the extent of the spread of the virus in the slum and non-slum communities of the two cities.
As per the findings of the study unveiled on June 22, Covid-19 antibody developed in 71 per cent people in Dhaka and 55 per in Chattogram while the overall 68 per cent of people studied had the coronavirus antibody developed in their blood. Dr Rubhana Raqib was the principal investigator of the study.
Read: Covid-19 burials: Quantum volunteers working through this lockdown too
Herd immunity is a concept based on the body's immune resistance to the spread of a deadly disease (bacterial or viral infection) and it can be obtained in two ways -- naturally through infections of the majority of the population and artificially through vaccinating around 80-90 percent of the population of a country.
Uncertainty over Covid herd immunity
“No one, including the WHO, still can surely say whether herd immunity for the Covid-19 is possible. We know herd immunity for Measles, Polio, cholera and other diseases, but no one knows about it regarding the Covid,” said Dr Rubhana.
She said it was a primary assumption that if around 80 percent of the population gains antibodies, then the herd immunity for Covid can be attained. “But new variants of Covid-19 virus are emerging with many mutations. So, it’s still difficult to say how the antibodies will respond to the new variants.”
Read: 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine to reach Dhaka soon
“For example, Israel has vaccinated almost 95 percent of its population with the Pfizer vaccine. But people in that country are now being infected with the Delta variant. That means achieving herd immunity regarding Covid is uncertain and difficult. So, we can’t say the population in Dhaka is going to attain herd immunity,” the scientist observed.
Covid vaccine may require every year
Rubhana said it may not be possible now to get herd immunity against Covid-19. “But it can be possible to protect people by boosting their immunity through administering vaccines from time to time as well as through upgrading the vaccines in line with emerging variants.
Like influenza and other flu vaccines, the scientist said it may require yearly vaccination for Covid. “The developed countries, including the USA, switch the flu vaccine strains every year evaluating the change in characteristics of those viruses. Most international scientists and WHO are also saying that it may require receiving Covid vaccines every year.”
Read: Free Covid-19 testing for low-income people during July
She said immunity from vaccines will give some protection against the new variants. “Virus has many antigens, but the vaccines are developed targeting some specific antigens for creating antibodies against those. When the virus changes its character, the antibody can’t identify and fight the new antigens, but it can neutralise the old antigens and thus the antibody can reduce the severity of the disease.”
Immunity can wear off
Rubhana said the antibody developed through Covid infection may not last long. “Research has shown that the antibody lasts for 3-4 months in some people while it lasts around 9-10 months in others. As the antibody is reduced after a few months, it can be boosted again with vaccination.”
She said the human body contains B cells and T cells to protect the body from foreign invasion by viruses or bacteria. “These are the major cellular components of the specific immune response.”
The scientist said when people get infections or are vaccinated, B cells in their body produce antibodies against the virus. “Once the infections subside, the B cells carrying the “memory” hide in the bone marrow. When these people encounter the virus again in the future, the B cells come out of their hiding place, multiply into thousands and millions of cells and produce huge antibodies to neutralise the virus.”
Read: Covid-19: Switzerland provides additional Tk 90 crore to support Bangladesh
Similarly, she said, “memory T cells” also remain hidden and when the virus attacks next time, they get stimulated with the exposure of the virus and kill the infected cells and the virus. “But it’s still being investigated whether the B cells and T cells can properly work in neutralising or killing the coronavirus when it changes its characters through mutations,” she observed.
No alternative to vaccine
Asked which antibody, natural one or vaccine-generated one, is stronger, Rubhana said, “Vaccines train our immune system to fight against future infections with the new coronavirus. But there’s an interesting thing regarding the Covid that if any person having natural antibodies from a Covid infection receives a vaccine, it significantly boosts his/her immunity. Research has shown that the response of antibodies from vaccines is higher than the antibody from infections.”
She said some vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, have been developed considering some components of the virus while Sinopharm developed it considering the whole inactivated virus. “So, these two types of vaccines may give different levels of protection.”
Read: COVID-19: Vaccines slowing growth in global caseload, as deaths near 4 million
She also said those who receive vaccines may not suffer from severe infection if they get infected with the virus afterwards. “So, there’s no alternative to vaccination to get back to normalcy.”
Rubhana said serosurveillance study should be conducted across the country to know the extent of the spread of the disease and the level of antibodies among the vast population.
“It’s also necessary to know how long the antibodies persist among the different age groups of people and how the antibodies work against the new variants like Delta one,” she added.
Bangladesh to get fair share of vaccines: US Congresswoman
US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat- Texas) has said Bangladesh will receive a fair share of Covid-19 vaccines.
She made the assurance during a meeting with Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States M Shahidul Islam at her office in Houston recently.
Read: AstraZeneca: Govt's desperate efforts yet to yield any good news
In response to the Ambassador’s request for her support to Bangladesh’s COVID-19 vaccine needs, the Congresswoman promised her help in this regard.
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 85 more deaths, positivity rate crosses 20%
Health authorities logged 5,727 more new Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh with a positivity rate of 20.27% in 24 hours until Wednesday morning as the Coronavirus keeps wreaking havoc on the country in its 2nd wave.
This is the highest number of cases registered in a single day since 13 April.
The positivity rate in the country rose to 20.27% from Tuesday’s 19.36%, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, the deadly virus claimed the lives of 85 more people during the 24-hour period, bringing the national tally to 13,787.
This is the highest since 20 April when the country logged 88 deaths in a single day.
The fresh cases pushed up the total caseload to 8,66,877, the handout added.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.59%.
So far, 791,553 people have recovered from the virus infections with 3,168 new ones.
Among the recent deceased, 55 were men and 30 were women. Of them, 10 between 31-40, 11 between 41-50, 18 between 51-60 and 46 were above 60 years of old.
The highest number of 36 deaths were recorded in Khulna division followed by Dhaka and Rajshahi with 19 and 18 deaths respectively.
Also read: Nationwide lockdown not needed if transmission in Dhaka, nearby districts is controlled: DGHS
The number of deaths was 7 in Chattogram, 3 in Mymensingh and 1 each in Barishal and Rangpur.
How to avert nationwide lockdown
The countrywide lockdown will not be necessary if Covid-19 transmission can be controlled in Dhaka and its adjacent districts, says the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin came up with the remark at its daily virtual briefing on Covid-19 on Wednesday.
“We’re observing the infection rates both in Dhaka and the surrounding districts. If the situation worsens in the capital first, a lockdown will be imposed in Dhaka and then across the country,” he said.
Lockdown extended in Rajshahi
Lockdown was extended for another week in Rajshahi city on Wednesday in an effort to bring the worsening coronavirus situation under control.
Abdul Jalil, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi, made the announcement following a meeting at his office on Wednesday afternoon.
Now the lockdown, which started on June 11, will remain in force until June 30.
Also read: Let's see what can be done, have patience: PM about vaccine management
Rajshahi recorded 18 new Covid-related deaths in 24 hours, according to the DGHS handout.
A total of 245 people have died of Covid-19 at the corona unit of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital in the last 23 days, according to sources.
36 deaths in Khulna!
Covid-19 continues to choke lives out of the residents of Khulna as 36 people died in the division in the last 24 hours, the highest in the country.
At Khulna General Hospital, some 156 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the corona unit.
Of them, 98 people are getting treatment in the red zone of the hospital, 22 in the yellow zone, 20 in ICU (intensive care unit), and 16 in HDU (high deficiency unit), reported our correspondent citing hospital sources.
Bangladesh rolls out Sinopharm vaccine
Bangladesh on Saturday started administering Sinopharm vaccine doses across the country, aiming to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The vaccination started in the capital and elsewhere of the country with 11 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine gifted by China, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: Pfizer, Sinopharm shots to start June 19: Health Minister
The vaccine doses are being administered at four hospitals in Dhaka district -- Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital, and Mughda Medical College and Hospital.
Health workers and police personnel, students of government and private medical and dental colleges, students of government institutes of nursing and midwifery, residents of dormitories of public universities, officers and employees working in important national projects, expatriate workers, cleaners, those who are engaged in burial and those who were excluded from vaccination earlier and citizens of other countries who are working here will be vaccinated on a priority basis.
Read: Sinopharm doses reach Sylhet, Sherpur, Chattogram
A consignment of 600,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm jabs arrived here on June 13, nine days after the arrival of the first batch of 500,000 doses gifted by Beijing.
Bangladesh also received 100,620 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on June 1.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malek said Pfizer vaccine shots will be given at four centres in Dhaka to those who have already registered.
On June 18, while exchanging views with local people's representatives at his residence in Garpara, Manikganj, the health minister said the country has not yet fully started the vaccination drive.
He said, "We hope to get vaccinated soon. We’ll get the vaccine from China and Russia. We’ll also get vaccines from India as per the agreement as it has not been delivered yet."
The minister went on saying, "Immediately after vaccination, a person is not protected, it takes a month."
The health minister also said Delta variant has also spread in our country and its transmission capacity is 50 percent higher.
"So, we’ve to follow health protocols, we’ve to protect ourselves, we’ve to protect the family, we’ve to protect the country," he added.
The government halted administering the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on April 26 considering the dwindling stock of its jabs.
Also, registration for the Covid-19 vaccination remained suspended amid uncertainty over the availability of promised vaccine doses from India's Serum Institute.
However, the mass vaccination of Covid-19 is expected to resume in July next as the government is making all-out efforts to collect vaccines, said Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus Thursday. "The government has allocated Tk14,000 crore for the procurement of vaccines as it’s an all-out effort to ensure Covid jabs for all."
The government has so far approved the emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinopharm (China), Sputnik-V (Russia), Pfizer-BioNTech (USA/Germany) and Crona Vac (China) vaccines.
Bangladesh loses 63 more lives to Covid; new infections 3,840
Bangladesh logged 63 more Coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours until 8am on Thursday as the country is scrambling to manage the 2nd wave of the virus infection.
The new deaths pushed up the number of fatalities to 13,345.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports sharp rise in infections
The virus also infected 3,840 people during the period, raising the total caseload to 8,41,087.
The positivity rate slightly declined to 15.44 percent from Wednesday’s 16.62 percent, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services.
However, the fatality rate remained static at 1.59 % during the period.
The country last recorded 15.07 percent positivity rate on April 21.
Read: Covid positivity rate rises in Bangladesh
The fresh cases were detected after testing 24,871 samples during the period.
As 776,466 people recovered from the virus, the country's recovery rate now stands at 92.32 percent, which is on the decline for a week.
Mass vaccination expected to resume in July: Principal Secretary
The mass vaccination of Covid-19 is expected to resume in July next as the government is making all-out efforts to collect vaccines, said Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus on Thursday.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to restart the vaccination on a mass scale in July,” he said, replying to a question at a press conference arranged at the Prime Minister’s Office over the Ashrayan-2 project.
The Principal Secretary said the government has already talked to several countries over the Covid-19 jabs. Bangladesh is also trying to produce vaccines locally. “We expect we’ll get the vaccines soon,” he added.
Read: Bangladesh approves single-dose Janssen Covid-19 vaccine
Noting that a fund of Tk 14,000 crore has been allocated for the procurement of vaccines, he said the Prime Minister always says Bangladesh does not need to get free vaccines as it will buy those wherever theses are available. “We’ve made good progress,” he added.
Dr Kaikaus said the government has been working rigorously for procuring vaccines from the very beginning. Bangladeshi diplomats keep communicating with the USA, the UK, Europe, China and other countries (for collecting Covid-19 vaccines), he said.
PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Ashrayan-2 Project Director Md Mahbub Hossain were, among others, present.
Read: Dhaka calls for transparency in vaccine trade by US companies
Halting vaccination
The government halted administering the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Apr 26 apparently considering the dwindling stock of its jabs.In a circular on April 25, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) asked the civil surgeons of all the districts, the chief health officers of all the city corporations, and the upaizla health and family planning officers of all the upazilas to take necessary steps in this regard.The first dose of the covid vaccination was apparently suspended amid uncertainty over the availability of vaccine doses from Serum Institute of India as per contract following rapid surge in the virus cases and deaths in neighbouring India.Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd for 30 million doses of the vaccine.Bangladesh received 7 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.Although Foreign Minister AK Momen had earlier assured people that there will be adequate doses of the vaccine, a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the vaccine doses uncertain.
Biotech vaccine to get go-aheadThe National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on Wednesday decided to approve Globe Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Bangavax, for human trials.Globe Biotech will get the final nod on conducting clinical trials on humans only after meeting some conditions set by the BMRC, its director Prof Dr Ruhul Amin said this after a virtual meeting.Bangladesh to set up international vaccine institute
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government is going to set up an international vaccine institute to produce vaccines, including the Covid-19 ones, in Bangladesh.She said the government will sign an agreement with South Korea to set up the vaccine institute and the issues relating to ratification, accession and approval of the agreement by the Cabinet are under process.The Prime Minister said the government has taken an initiative to produce Covid-19 vaccines in the country alongside collection from foreign sources to check the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.Hasina said government-to-government (G2G) negotiations are underway with the countries that have developed vaccines for transferring technology to this end.
Read: Bangladesh begins administering 1st dose of Chinese vaccine
Five vaccines get nod
Replying to another question from Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam, the Prime Minister said the government has so far approved the emergency use of five vaccines for their import.
The vaccines are Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinopharm (China), Sputnik-V (Russia), Pfizer-BioNTech (USA/Germany) and Crona Vac (China).
She said Bangladesh has so far collected a total of 1,08,0620 (1.08 crore) shots of Covid vaccines from different foreign sources. Of these, 1.02 crore shots, including the gifted ones, came from India, while 5 lakh from Sinopharm and 1,0620 doses from Pfizer.
Lockdown extendedThe government has extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown till 15 July as the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen in the country.However, all government, semi-government, autonomous private offices, banks and financial institutions will remain open maintaining health protocols.