Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming will volunteer to be the first participant in the phase III trial of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate in Bangladesh, once it is approved by the government.

Confirming the information, Yan Hualong, Deputy Head of Mission, Chinese Embassy in Dhaka said, “As I have no chance to win against him (Ambassador), I'll be happy to be the second one.”

Earlier on Sunday, Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) approved the icddr,b to conduct the phase-III human trial of Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company.

“The approval to conduct the Phase-3 clinical trial of Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Chinese company Sinovac Research and Development Co Ltd, will be informed formally within two to three days,” said BMRC Director Dr Mahmood-uz-Jahan.

About a month ago, icddr,b applied to BMRC for permission to conduct Covid-19 vaccine’s phase-III clinical trial in Bangladesh, he said adding that their application has been approved today.

“We went through their application and reviewed it,” he added.

However, this approval is not the end. Icddr,b will have to follow some other procedures and get permissions from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), Dr Jahan added.

Also read: Covid-19 Vaccine: BMRC approves icddr,b to conduct phase-3 trial in Bangladesh