The first consignment containing five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine purchased by Bangladesh from licensed manufacturers Serum Institute of India under the brand name Covishield has arrived safely in Dhaka.

A flight of Air India carrying the vaccine consignment landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:05 am, said additional SP of Airport Armed Police Alamgir Hossain.

Earlier, Nazmul Hassan Papon, the Managing Director of Beximco Pharma, which signed an exclusive distribution and cooperation agreement  for Bangladesh with SII, said “The doses will be taken straight to the warehouse (Beximco Pharma warehouse in Tongi) from the airport. They’ll be sent out to all districts after necessary tests.”

On Sunday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said “India has already provided us 2 million doses. Five million doses will come as per our contract. The rest  (25 million doses) will come in phases.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate a pilot vaccination drive on Jan 27 at Kurmitola Hospital. A nurse will receive the first jab there.

Also Read: Bangladesh’s vaccination plan unveiled

The government has a list of everyone who will be vaccinated, he said, adding that permission has been given for antibody tests.

In November of last year, the Government of Bangladesh, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, and Serum Institute of India (SII) entered into a tripartite agreement to buy 30 million doses of Covishield, SII's brand name for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma giants AstraZeneca.

Under the agreement, the Bangladeshi govt will pay SII for the 30 million doses of the vaccine and Beximco Pharma will receive a separate fee for its distribution role. Beximco Pharma is the exclusive distributor of the vaccine in Bangladesh and will be responsible for maintaining the cold chain, import, storage, and delivery of the vaccine.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was proven to be safe with no major side-effects reported throughout the human trials. It generates strong antibody and T-cells response for long-term immunity against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Also Read: 50 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca doses coming Monday from India: Health Minister

A pause during the trials to address safety concerns in the second week of September received a lot of publicity, but a review by the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) in the UK reinforced the proof of vaccine safety, allowing the trials to resume after a week.

The Oxford vaccine, as it has rather fondly come to be known, has showcased 62% efficacy in the trials when two full doses were given to participants. However, among a limited number of participants, who received a lower first dose followed by a full second dose, the efficacy went up to 90%. Based on these results, the overall efficacy, combining different dosage groups, was shown to be 70%, which attracted some controversy.

However, the half-dosage method was a result of an error, as admitted by AstraZeneca. Moreover, the relatively lower number of volunteers of more than 55 years in that cohort also raised some eyebrows, eventually leading to the idea of a half dose followed by a full dose booster being ditched.

Also Read: Bangladesh’s daily Covid-19 infection rate drops below 4%

While the efficacy of the Oxford vaccine may seem quite low compared to the extraordinary efficacy of around 95% showcased by Pfizer and Moderna’s cutting-edge mRNA vaccines in the US, the easy storage and transportation benefits of Covishield trumps the mRNA vaccines that must be stored at ultracool temperatures of -20 t0 -70°C. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at regular fridge temperatures (2-8 degrees Celsius).

It should also be noted that health regulators had officially announced they would be ready to accept a vaccine with efficacy as low as just 50%. Some seasonal flu vaccines have efficacy as low as 30-40%.

Globally, the Oxford-AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine is named AZD1222 and is co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech.

The vaccine uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector (i.e. it cannot replicate inside the body) based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein.

After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced in the human body without any impact of the actual COVID-19 disease, enabling the immune system to recognise the Spike protein and attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it infects the body in future.

Also Read: Global Covid-19 cases near 99 million

In June 2020, SII signed an agreement with AstraZeneca, the Gates Foundation and GAVI to produce 100 crore doses of AZD1222 under the brand name Covishield, mainly for supply to developing countries.

Beximco Pharma and SII signed a "cooperation and distribution agreement" in late August over development of a COVID-19 vaccine, for which Beximco would be the "exclusive supplier" in Bangladesh.

The agreement, which is public due to Beximco Pharma's listing on the London Stock Exchange, stated:

"Under the terms of the planned arrangement, Beximco will make a financial contribution to advance the development of the vaccine which will be adjusted based on the vaccine price. SII will  prioritise Bangladesh to be one of the first countries to receive an agreed quantity of doses once the vaccine receives all necessary regulatory approvals. Beximco will be the exclusive supplier of the vaccine in Bangladesh and will facilitate the needs of the Government of Bangladesh by offering the opportunity for it to reserve the desired quantities for priority supply at prices to be agreed between the Government and SII."

 Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh

 Bangladesh recorded a daily infection rate (also known as positivity rate, it tells us out of the number of tests conducted, how many come back positive for COVID-19) of 3.34% with 473 new cases reported until early Sunday.

Since January 6, the daily positivity rate has consistently been below 6%, and over the last week, it has been below 5%.

Also Read: Won’t pay over $4 for Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine dose: Papon

According to WHO's guidance to governments from May 2020, a daily positivity rate below 5% for two consecutive weeks is indicative that the epidemic is under control in a jurisdiction.

Bangladesh has reported 531,799 cases so far. And the country’s fatalities rose to 8,023 and death rate to 1.51%, with 20 more Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, since the first fatality was reported on March 18.

BUP Vice-Chancellor (VC) Major General Md Moshfequr Rahman on Sunday paid a courtesy call on President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban in the evening.

President’s Press Secretary Mohammad Joynal Abedin told UNB after the meeting.

He asked the authority concerned of the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) to focus on research activities simultaneously the general education.

Also read: PM Hasina calls on President Hamid

“Focus on research activities simultaneously the general education at the university” so that the students can cope with the world competition.

Expressing satisfaction over the overall activities of BUP, the President said the BUP has already earned a reputation for its different activities, including educational and maintaining conducive environment to learning.

Abdul Hamid was apprised of the academic and development activities of the BUP.

Also read: Outgoing Australian high commissioner calls on President Hamid

The President assured the VC of providing all necessary cooperation as the VC sought the President’s cooperation and direction in running the university activities properly.

Secretaries concerned to the President were present.

Bangladesh will not pay more than US$4 for each dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine it is buying from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, said Nazmul Hassan Papon, the Managing Director of Beximco Pharma.

The first consignment of five million doses from Serum Institute will reach Dhaka around 11:30am on Monday, he told reporters at his Gulshan residence on Sunday evening.

Also read: 50 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca doses coming Monday from India: Health Minister

“According to our deal, the doses will be taken straight to our warehouse from the airport. They’ll be sent out to all districts after necessary tests,” he said, adding that Bangladesh is paying the same price for each dose as India.

“At the moment, we can’t say for sure how much it’ll cost but it should be within $3 to $4,” he said. “Although India is paying $4 [for each dose], Bangladesh won’t pay more than $4.”

Also read: Bangladesh’s vaccination plan unveiled

Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum Institute last month for procuring Covid-19 vaccine. Under the deal, Bangladesh will import 30 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, five million in each month, from Serum in the next six months.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the vaccination drive on Jan 27 at Kurmitola Hospital. A nurse will receive the jab there.

Also read: 20 lakh doses of Oxford vaccine reach Dhaka as gift from India

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said the national committee which will decide how the vaccination campaign will be carried out. They have completed their preparations.

The government has a list of everyone who will be vaccinated, he said, adding that permission has been given for antibody tests.

Also read: Bangladesh’s Covid-19 vaccine storage capacity 140-150m: Health Minister

Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested an alleged member of banned militant outfit Neo JMB from the city’s Konabari bus stand under Dar –us- Salam police station.

The arrestee was identified as Minhaj Hossain, 38.

Based on secret information, a team of CTID conducted a raid at Konabari bus stand area at around 6:30 pm on Saturday and arrested Minhaj.

Also read: Operation Elegant Bite: 4 ‘Neo JMB’ members held in city

Sources at the CTID claimed that Minhaj is an active member of Neo JMB. Besides, he has  close ties with members of international extremist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al Shams (HTS).

During preliminary interrogation, he reportedly confessed that he along with his absconding associates were planning to conduct sabotage activities in Dhaka city. 

It is learned that the arrested Minhaj is a Bangladeshi citizen by descent. He was born in Bangladesh and then moved to Pakistan with other family members as a teenager. He grew up there. He and his family later moved to the United States from Pakistan. He also traveled to several countries including Malaysia, Brunei, Papua New Guinea at different times and returned to Bangladesh in 2017.

Also read: 2 ‘Neo JMB’ men held in city

The CTID had an intelligence lead that a Bangladeshi national returned from Turkey in December last year failing to reach Syria. Based on the information, the CTID intensified its intelligence to identify the Bangladesh national and finally arrested Minhaj from Darus Salam thana area on Saturday evening, said Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the DMP Md Walid Hossain.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited (PLFS) Chairman Uzzal Nandi and former managing director of International Leasing Rashedul Haque on Sunday for aiding PK Halder.

ACC Public Relations Officer (Director) Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB that they would produce the accused before the court and seek time to interrogate them.

Also read: ACC arrests ‘two associates’ of PK Haldar

According to the case statement, PK Halder went into hiding after allegedly embezzling Tk 3,500 crore from various financial institutions. The two accused helped Halder in money laundering.

On January 14, ACC froze Tk 1,057 crore from the accounts of 62 associates of PK Halder on charges of them being involved in his money laundering scams.

Also read: Arrest PK Haldar immediately after he returns: HC