COVID-19 vaccine
PM: Govt has arranged to bring one crore Covid vaccine doses a month
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told Parliament that the government has taken steps to get over one crore coronavirus vaccine doses every month.
“Steps have been taken to ensure more than one crore vaccines every month,” she said.
She made the statement while answering a tabled question from ruling party MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker during PM’s question-answer session.
Sheikh Hasina said that as per the schedule Bangladesh will get two crore vaccine doses each month from Sinopharm from next October. Until December some six crore jabs will come from Sinopharm, she said.
She also said that so far (August 30) some 1,82,89,018 persons got first dose of vaccine while 78,40,169 persons got second shot. In total 2,61,29,187 doses of vaccines have been given.
Read: Decision on vaccinating school students soon: DGHS DG
“Collection of vaccines is on while providing the shots free to the people,” she said.
The prime minister said that the government has established contacts with all vaccine producing organisations.
Govt plans to provide Covid jabs to two crore people by September
The government aims at vaccinating two crore people against Covid by next month, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday.
The minister said this at a virtual programme on the occasion of the National Mourning Day, held at Manikganj Government Boys High School ground in Manikganj district.
“We have tried our best to keep people well during the pandemic,” he said.
READ: Vaccine sharing: Dhaka wants EU to be more generous
What is Covid-19 vaccine passport?
"Vaccine passports" are digital or paper documents that show you were vaccinated against Covid-19 and could help you get into a growing number of places.
What they look like and why you might want one depend on where you live, but more private venues, workplaces and governments are requiring proof of vaccination in public settings.
Europe and US states like California and New York created official digital credentials that let you verify your Covid-19 immunisation record and convert it into a scannable QR code you can pull up on your cell phone.
Vaccine sharing: Dhaka wants EU to be more generous
The European Union (EU) should be more generous in sharing Covid-19 vaccines with others who need them badly, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Thursday.
Although the EU talks much about human rights, it cares little about it when it comes to vaccine sharing, he said.
"We expect the EU to be more generous," the minister told reporters while referring to the fact that European countries are letting thousands of Covid-19 vaccine doses expire.
Read: Bangladesh to receive 60 lakh more Pfizer vaccine doses in Aug: Minister
However, Dr Momen said Bangladesh will soon receive more vaccine doses from the US.
The country will receive 10 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine on August 30.
Also, the foreign minister said he will leave Dhaka on August 28 to attend a series of programmes in Geneva, Switzerland, the Netherlands and hold important meetings in London during his stopover there.
Read: US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
On the Afghanistan issue, Dr Momen said Bangladesh is keeping close tabs on the situation and the Bangladesh Embassy in Uzbekistan is in touch with Bangladeshis who are willing to return.
Talking about his recent South Sudan and South Africa visit, the minister said it was very useful and successful.
Mass Vaccination in Bangladesh: Administering 2nd dose to start on Sep 7
The government will start administering the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine under its mass vaccination campaign on Sep 7, according to the chief of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Director General of DGHS Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam disclosed the matter while talking to reporters after an event at the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) auditorium on Wednesday.
“Administering the 2nd dose won’t be a problem as we’ll have available stocks by then,” he reassured.
Read DU asks students to provide their vaccination status
Responding to a question whether the jab seekers can walk in to their vaccination centers without SMS from the concerned authorities, he replied that details on the second dose will be elaborated after a meeting within the high officials of DGHS and the health ministry.
Dr Abul Bashar also claimed that the first phase of the mass vaccination campaign has been a huge success apart from a few isolated incidents.
He also informed that around 60 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive in the country soon.
Read DU asks students to provide their vaccination status
He mentioned that they have received 561 ventilators from friendly sources which would soon be dispatched to 300 Covid designated hospitals across the country.
Bangladesh on August 7 kicked off its mass vaccination drive aimed at inoculating as many adults as possible in a short period of time.
However, on Monday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said that Bangladesh will not conduct any new mass Covid inoculation drive as the supply of vaccine doses is much lower than the demand.
Read PM orders speeding up vaccination of industrial workers, families
“No more mass inoculation drives will be held in the country now as we do not have adequate vaccines in hand and we’ll not use the word ‘mass’ in future,” he told reporters at the Secretariat.
DGHS chief vows action in instances of stealing Covid jabs
Action will be taken if any Health Department officials are found involved in the recent selling of Covid-19 jabs in Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) ABM Khurshid Alam warned on Sunday.
He said this while talking to UNB during a visit to National Institute of Neurosciences & Hospital in Dhaka.
He said vaccine stealing is a sensitive issue and investigation is going on regarding this.
Also read: Take actions against Cumilla councilor for pushing Covid jabs: Probe
His warning came days after police held Bijoy Krishna Talukdar, owner of ‘Doridro Paribar Seba’ clinic in city’s Dakshinkhan area for illegally administering Moderna Covid-19 jabs.
Bangladesh to get 781,440 AstraZeneca doses from Japan Saturday
Bangladesh will receive 781,440 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan Saturday.
A flight of All Nippon Airways, carrying the vaccine shots, left Japan's Narita International Airport Friday.
The vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Saturday on a flight of Cathay Pacific.
Read: Bangladesh to resume administering AstraZeneca jabs Monday
With this shipment, the total amount of dispatched vaccines from Japan as of today stands at over 2.4 million.
This delivery is a part of Japan's commitment to supplying over 3 million doses of vaccine under the WHO-COVAX mechanism.
Read: Over 1.6 million AstraZeneca doses received from Japan
Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed was present at the airport during vaccine dispatch.
Counsellor (Labour) Md Zakir Hossain and First Secretary (Political) Arif Mohammad were also present at that time.
Khaleda to receive 2nd dose of Covid vaccine today
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will receive the second dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at Sheikh Russel Gastroliver Institute and Hospital on Thursday afternoon.
She is scheduled to leave her Gulshan residence around 2pm for the hospital to receive the vaccine shot, said her media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
Read: Khaleda recovers from vaccine side effects
Party senior leaders and Khaleda’s personal physicians will be present there at the hospital.
Meanwhile, BNP chief’s personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar sent a letter to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner seeking her security during the vaccination.
Earlier on July 19, Khaleda took the first dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the same hospital.
Read:Khaleda takes 1st dose of Covid vaccine
She registered online through Surokkha website for getting the vaccine on July 8.
On April 11, the 76-year-old BNP chief tested positive for Covid-19 and she was admitted to Evercare Hospital on April 27.
She tested negative for Covid-19 on May 8, 27, days after she had been infected with the deadly virus.
Read:Khaleda receives vaccination SMS: Dr Zahid
On June 19, Khaleda Zia got back home from the hospital after 53 days of treatment for Covid infections and other physical complications.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
Thailand to start trials of homegrown Covid-19 vaccine in September
Thailand is set to start human trials of its homegrown and plant-based Covid-19 vaccine in September, and the shot is expected to be ready for Thais next year.
The subunit vaccine was developed by Chulalongkorn University's Vaccine Research Centre and Baiya Phytopharm Co Ltd.
A hundred volunteers would join for the first clinical trial of the vaccine, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said. "The volunteers would be given three different dosages – 10, 50 and 100 micrograms of the candidate vaccine to determine an appropriate effective dose for adults."
"A pre-clinical study in mice and monkeys found the vaccine candidate being highly effective in boosting the animals' immunity. If human trials are successful, the vaccine will be ready for Thais next year," he continued.
"The researchers are testing it against 10 variants. If the research is successful, we may have something similar to a flu vaccine that can protect against several strains," Anutin said.
The "Baiya Vaccine" is produced from plant leaves, by Baiya Phytofarm and uses heirloom tobacco leaves from Australia to function as the virus' non-pathogenic genetic materials, Chulalongkorn University said.
CEO and co-founder of Baiya Phytofarm Dr Sutheera Dejkhunnavuth said the Baiya Vaccine against Covid-19 is a subunit vaccine that has been produced for a long time in other countries using plants, insects while some countries like Canada and South Korea use plant leaves.
"This vaccine uses heirloom tobacco leaves from Australia to function as the virus' non-pathogenic genetic materials. When injected into the body, the vaccine will boost our immunity to fight the infection," Dr Sutheera said. "The vaccine is expected to be ready in the middle of next year at 300 to 500 baht per dose."
Also, Chulalongkorn University researchers have been developing Covid-19 vaccines, including ChulaCov19, an mRNA vaccine that conducted the first phase of its clinical trial in June.
China doesn’t attach any political strings to vaccine cooperation: Envoy
China has stressed that it does not attach any political strings or economic calculations to carrying out vaccine cooperation with Bangladesh and other countries.
“The only purpose of China is to make vaccines a global public good that truly serves people’s interests and help the world defeat the pandemic at an early date. To this end, China will take further actions,” said Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming on Monday.
While speaking at a signing ceremony of the local production of Sinopharm vaccines in Bangladesh, he said at least three deficits -- distribution deficit, production deficit and cooperation deficit -- need to be addressed.
The Ambassador thanked Bangladesh for respecting science, multilateralism and justice, and said he is sure that their anti-pandemic cooperation will only become stronger and more fruitful, leading to further contribution to the global fight against Covid-19.