5.4m vaccines to arrive by Aug 15

Bangladesh will receive another 5.4 million Covid vaccine doses by August 15 as many producers remain committed to supplying the agreed amount, Health and Family Welfare minister Zahid Maleque said on Monday.

“Bangladesh will get 3.4 million doses of vaccine under the Covax facility and 1 million doses which were purchased and another 1 million as gift from China,” he said after attending the weekly cabinet meeting at the Secretariat in Dhaka.

“The new stock of vaccine doses will help the country make is ongoing vaccination drive more dynamic,” he said, adding that the government has geared up its inoculation campaign.

The minister said that people were taking jabs in a festive mood, similar to voting after standing in long queues, during special mass vaccination campaign.

Bangladesh on August 7 started the special vaccination campaign across the country to vaccinate 3.5 lakh vaccines, after reducing the vaccination target from 1 crore people.

The country started its vaccination drive when Covid surged the country as the country counted 245 deaths and 11,463 Covid positive cases in a span of 24 hours till 8:00am on Monday.

Including the latest, total death toll reached to 22,897 and positive cases at 13,65, 158, since the beginning of Covid in Bangladesh on March 8 and first death case 10 days later.