Bangladesh to get its own vaccine

In a long-awaited move Bangladesh is finally embarking on producing Covid-19 vaccines on its soil. The government has just signed a tripartite agreement with China’s pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm and local drug manufacturer Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd on co-production of Covid-19 vaccines.

The local company is going to bring in the material for the vaccines in bulk, before bottling, labelling, and finishing the vaccines locally. Obviously, this process is much cheaper than buying the completed vaccines. Not only is the price factor important here but this would also help lessen to a great extent Bangladesh’s dependency on foreign countries. Many developed countries have purchased a high proportion of available vaccine doses, signing purchasing agreements for quantities of vaccines sufficient to vaccinate their entire population several times over. This has put countries like Bangladesh at a distinct disadvantage. Bangladesh is fighting the pandemic against unsurmountable odds and this latest development indeed gives the country a much-needed boost in its goal to vaccinate the majority of the population as early as possible. We take this opportunity to thank our trusted friend China who has already helped us a lot in our quest to overcome the Covid-19 challenge.

Bangladesh may think of approaching other vaccine producers to explore possibilities of collaboration in making different types of vaccines. If there is enough production Bangladesh can become a proud member of a small number of countries who are exporting vaccines

It is quite clear that many low and even middle-income countries are facing a serious shortage of coronavirus vaccines that threatens to upend progress against the pandemic. If this shortage is not addressed soon, the trouble will become all too clear. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people will continue to get sick and perish, even as the pandemic recedes in richer nations.

Vaccination is a solution to containing the coronavirus, for all ages. With unprecedented speed, scientists invented not one but multiple safe and effective vaccines against Covid-19, the tools we desperately need to end this scourge that has killed millions of people. It can sometimes be hard to recognize the magnitude of events as they are happening. But in all of human history, no vaccine against any infection that kills so many has been invented so quickly. It is a staggering achievement. We have less than two years after the disease first emerged, the kind of preventive measure that those who suffered through thousands of years of plagues and pandemics wished for in vain. This is a triumph of science but this boon is being shared unequally. About 100 countries, led by India and South Africa, are asking fellow World Trade Organization members to agree a time-limited lifting of Covid-19-related intellectual-property (IP) rights.

The main vaccine suppliers, they argue, should share their knowledge so that more countries can start producing vaccines for their own populations and for the lowest-income nations. We have seen vaccine shortages put a sudden halt to vaccination programmes, and while Bangladesh has since learned its lesson and is now procuring vaccines from multiple sources, given its ambitious targets, it must continue to pro-actively procure vaccines in addition to producing its own vaccines so that there are no future stoppages to the vaccination process.

 The richest nations account for 16 percent of the global population but hold 53 percent of all purchased coronavirus doses, according to the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. To make a meaningful change to this scenario more and more countries need to follow the example set by Bangladesh and start producing their own vaccine.

We thank the government for the initiative it has taken to produce Covid-19 vaccines in the country. This is a groundbreaking development. However, the authorities concerned should also ensure that once the vaccine rollout starts there is smoothness and transparency. Price and distribution should be closely monitored. The agencies must remain vigilant so that there is no smuggling and hoarding of vaccines. The government should take care that [the vaccine] should be given to those in line of priority.