India to gift 2 million doses of ‘Covishield’ vaccine to Bangladesh

 On January 8, 2021, the government of Bangladesh had approved the procurement of 30 million doses of Covishield vaccine, manufactured by Serum Institute in India.

India will provide 2 million doses of the ‘Covishield’ vaccine to Bangladesh as a gift on January 20, 2021. The Covishield vaccine is locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

As per the letter written by the Indian High Commission to the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a special flight from India carrying Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines will land at Shahjalal International Airport on January 20.

The Health Services Division under the Bangladesh ministry has also issued a letter to the Directorate General of Drug Administration-DGDA of the country to take relevant steps to administer the vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccines will be further received and stored in Bangladesh at the facilities of the Directorate General of Health Services, such as the Expanded Program on Immunisation-EPI.

Additional storage for COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh:

As per the Health Minister of Bangladesh, Zahid Maleque, additional storage for the Coronavirus vaccines to Bangladesh will be provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund- UNICEF.

Agreement signed between Bangladesh and Serum Institute of India:

In November 2020, an agreement was signed between the Serum Institute of India and the Bangladesh government through which Beximco Pharma in Bangladesh will avail 30 million doses of Coronavirus vaccine.

The drug regulator of Bangladesh DGDA- Directorate General of Drug Administration had authorized Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited for importing and distributing the COVID-19 vaccines from India. Reportedly, in the first six months of the first phase, Beximco Pharma will be procuring 5 million vaccine doses per month.

Bangladesh on priority for Covid-19 vaccine for India:

During the visit of Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla to Bangladesh in 2020, it was emphasized that Bangladesh will be a priority recipient of the coronavirus vaccine which will be developed in India.

On January 8, 2021, the government of Bangladesh had approved the procurement of 30 million doses of Covishield vaccine, manufactured by Serum Institute in India.