Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said Japan will send 2.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh soon.

"Japan will stand by Bangladesh in the fight against COVID19," he tweeted, confirming vaccine supply to Bangladesh under COVAX facility.

The Japanese Ambassador said his Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has already made an announcement that 15 countries in the region will be provided with 11 million doses in total under the COVAX facilities.

Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen indicated that Bangladesh will soon receive a large number of vaccine doses from a number of sources including under the COVAX facility.

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Bangladesh Mission in Geneva has conveyed that Bangladesh will receive 3 million doses of Moderna vaccine under the COVAX facility, Dr Momen said, adding that the shipment is ready.

Bangladesh has already received 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses under the COVAX facility, said the Foreign Minister.

The Foreign Minister will have a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister in Tashkent and China will give 1 million more doses of Sinopharm vaccine as a gift to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has already received 11 lakh (1.1 million) doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China as a gift.

Dr Momen said Bangladesh will receive 1 million doses of vaccine from the European Union. In August, Bangladesh will receive 6 lakh 20 thousand doses of vaccine under the COVAX facility.

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COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh is in a good position now as they have made a line up for receiving vaccine doses from a number of sources.

He said there will be no vaccine crisis and the vaccination programme will continue uninterruptedly.