The government has decided to set aside 8,000 crore taka to procure Covid-19 vaccine from the international market under a fast-track vaccine collection plan.
An official of finance division, under the condition of anonymity, said Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and finance division held several meetings to decide the amount needed to procure vaccines.
PMO, Foreign Ministry, Health Ministry and Finance Division are involved in the collection of vaccines from aboard.
Total outlay of vaccine purchase was finalised in term of total population of the country considering the latest vaccine and population theory, the official said.
United Nation estimates the population of Bangladesh is 164,689,383 mid-2020.
Vaccines mimic the virus – or part of the virus – they protect against, stimulating the immune system to develop antibodies. They must follow higher safety standards than other drugs because they are given to millions of healthy people.
The government allocated 10,000 crore taka as block allocation in budget to tackle Covid-19 pandemic. The cost of purchasing vaccines will come from this allocation.
Health Service Secretary Abdul Mannan in a Covid-19 procurement meeting said the procurement cost of a single vaccine is $40 or 3,400 taka.
Health Minister Zahid Malek on Monday said effective vaccines will be procured from wherever possible to save the people from the epidemic.
“Several countries in the world have already reached the advanced stage of vaccine production. Oxford University and several institutions in China are in advanced stage of vaccine research. Also, in the US, Pfizer and Mordana are in the advanced stage. Russia has claimed success in Covid-19 vaccine.”
"We have been in touch with the World Health Organization (WHO) since July. They assured, once the vaccine is ready, 20 percent will go to low and middle-income countries. Moreover, contacts with other companies leading vaccine production in other countries are also ongoing.”
Once the vaccine is ready, the Prime Minister will decide on who to buy the vaccine from. The Prime Minister is well informed about the latest on vaccine around the world, he added.
The convener of Jannaswashthya Sangram Parishad Faiezul Hakim said the government must ensure Covid-19 vaccination for free no matter how much it costs to buy the vaccine.
Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now tracked by WHO.
Vaccines normally require years of testing and additional time to produce at scale, but scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine within 12 to 18 months.
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