US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller and Senior Secretary of the Health Service Division Lokman Hossian Miah on Wednesday welcomed the arrival of one million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Bangladesh.

The vaccine doses are donated by the United States as part of the U.S. Government’s commitment to donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine globally.

Bangladesh is expected to receive another 5 million doses of the same vaccine from the US this month.

They build on earlier donations of the Moderna vaccine, for a total of 6.5 million doses gifted by the U.S. Government and the American people to the people of Bangladesh.

Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Kathryn Stevens were also present at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to receive the shipment of vaccines, facilitated through COVAX.

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"We are pleased to donate another one million vaccines as a gift from the American people to the people of Bangladesh, and we are grateful to COVAX for facilitating the delivery," said the US Ambassador.

Donating vaccines is just one part of their broader partnership with Bangladesh to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

"The United States is the largest donor of COVID-19 assistance to Bangladesh, contributing not only 6.5 million doses of vaccines – so far – but also over $96 million to battle the pandemic," said Ambassador Miller.  

In addition to vaccine donations, the United States continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen the government’s response to the pandemic.

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U.S. investments trained thousands of healthcare providers and volunteers to administer vaccines safely and efficiently and protect the health of Bangladeshis.  

This delivery of Pfizer vaccines comes as part of the broader commitment by President Biden and the United States to lead the global COVID-19 response by donating 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccine around the world—the largest-ever purchase and donation of COVID vaccines by a single country to date.

The United States has already committed $2 billion to support the worldwide COVAX effort, with a pledge of an additional $2 billion, making the United States the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access.

U.S. assistance has helped save lives and also focuses on protecting frontline workers and increasing the public’s knowledge about COVID-19, including ways to protect themselves.