Vaccine
Khaleda receives vaccination SMS: Dr Zahid
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has got an SMS to receive the first dose of Covid vaccine as she got registered online through a government-approved app, ‘Surokkha’, 10 days back.
“Madam got an SMS as a formality to have the first dose of the Covid vaccine,” said her medical team member and BNP vice-chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain told UNB on Sunday.
He said the BNP chief is likely to get vaccinated any day before Eid-ul-Azha.
READ: Khaleda registered online for Covid vaccine: Dr Zahid
Replying to a question, he said Khaleda will go to Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital in the city’s Mohakhali to receive the vaccine maintaining health safety rules.
On July 8, the BNP chairperson got registered for the vaccine.
During the registration, Zahid said, the BNP chairperson mentioned the National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital as the centre for having the vaccine.
On April 11, the 76-year-old BNP chief tested positive for Covid-19 and she was admitted to Evercare Hospital on April 27.
A 10-member medical board, headed by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, was formed for the treatment of Khaleda at the Evercare Hospital a day after her admission there.
She tested negative for Covid-19 on May 8, 27 days after she had been infected with the deadly virus.
On June 19, Khaleda Zia got back home from the hospital after 53 days of treatment for Covid infections and other physical complications.
READ: Govt violating HR by blocking Khaleda’s treatment abroad: BNP
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
Covid claims 210 more lives in Bangladesh, 12,383 more test positive
Still in the midst of Covid-19 crisis, Bangladesh lost 210 more lives to the deadly virus, while another 12,383 people contracted it in24 hours till Wednesday morning.The new numbers took the country’s death tally to 17,052 and the caseload to 10,59,538, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
READ: Govt. to purchase 15 million Sinopharm Covid vaccine at lower rate
The fresh cases were detected after testing 42,490 samples during the period, bringing down the case positivity rate slightly to 29.14% from Tuesday’s 29.21%.However, the case fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.61% during the 24-hour period.The country saw a record number of 13,768 Covid cases on Monday and the highest-ever 230 deaths on Sunday.
READ: US COVID-19 cases rising again, doubling over three weeks
So far, 897,412 people have recovered from the disease, taking the country’s recovery rate to 84.70%, which is on the decline compared to other indicators.
READ: Covid-19: Visa on arrival service in Bangladesh suspended
Nothing to be sceptical about Chinese vaccines: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said there is nothing to worry about the safety of Chinese vaccines, mentioning that millions of people used the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Listen, we heard the same when Covid-19 vaccine – AstraZeneca – first came to Bangladesh. So, there’s nothing to worry about (Chinese vaccines). WHO approved the vaccines,” he said when a reporter raised the issue.
Dr Momen referred to what he saw in video (fake) that 13 nurses turned senseless in the UK after taking AstraZeneca vaccine doses. “This kind of thing comes up.”
More than 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in China, according to international media.
Read: FM reassures on adequate vaccine supply from multiple sources
“There has been no problem for any of them (in China) who got vaccinated,” said the Foreign Minister, adding that there is no reason to get worried.
1.84 lakh doses of Moderna, Sinopharm vaccines reach Chattogram
Some 184,000 doses of Moderna and Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines reached Chattogram on Sunday as the government is set to accelerate the inoculation drive amid the worsening corona situation.
Among the shots, 105,600 doses of Moderna MRNA developed by the USA, while the rest 78,400 are of Sinopharm developed by China, said a PID handout.
It is expected that the vaccination drive in Chattogram will begin on Tuesday (July 13).
Also read: Bangladesh to receive 60 lakh more Pfizer vaccine doses in Aug: Minister
The Moderna vaccine doses will be given in nine centres of the city, while that of Sinopharm at the upazila level. The people, aged above 35, would be able to receive the vaccines on completion of the registration process.
Civil Surgeon of Chattogram Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi received the vaccines of Moderna and Sinopharm, carried by freezer vans of Beximco Pharmaceutical.
Earlier, more than 8.5 lakh shots of Covid vaccines --762,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and 91,200 doses of Sinopharm vaccine-- were sent to Chattogram.
Also read: Bangladesh hopeful of receiving 3.5 mln vaccine doses from COVAX this month: FM
On January 31 last, some 456,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reached Chattogram in the first phase, while 306,000 doses of the same vaccines on April 09 in the second phase. Later, some 91,200 shoots of Sinopharm vaccine reached the port city on June 18 last.
The Covid vaccination first began in Chattogram on February 7 last.
Got indications about more vaccine supplies to Bangladesh: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said they have received positive indications from a number of countries regarding the supplies of more vaccine doses to Bangladesh.
“There’s nothing to be worried about. There’ll be plenty of vaccines. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has kept [aside] adequate funds for purchasing vaccines,” he told reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday night.
Bangladesh has received 2.5 million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine under the COVAX facility and 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine (commercially purchased from China) on Friday night and Saturday morning.
READ: FM mourns ex-VOA newscaster Kaffey Khan's death
Dr Momen said the situation has stabilized as these vaccines from two sources came at a very critical time.
He thanked expatriate Bangladeshis in the USA who started a campaign for ensuring vaccine doses for Bangladesh. "It helped us."
Dr Momen also thanked US President Joe Biden and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller saying President Biden has kept his words.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the vaccination programme in the country will be expedited with the arrival of 4.5 million doses of vaccine in the country.
He said the government is in discussion with a number of countries to get AstraZeneca vaccine doses and the Foreign Minister is helping them in many ways. “We’ve got a positive indication from those countries that they’ll give us AstraZeneca.”
The Health Minister also said they got indications from India too that they will start supplying AstraZeneca doses from August. “Hope, we’ll get that timely, and people will be able to get their second doses.”
READ: Bangladesh to receive 2.5mn Moderna jabs from COVAX July 2-3: FM
On the issue of supply of vaccines abroad, official spokesperson at Indian Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi reiterated that currently India’s priority remains on domestic production to domestic vaccination programme, which is progressing rapidly.
“I’ve said earlier, the government is making all-out efforts to augment vaccine availability in the country, be it through domestic production or imports,” he said in the latest regular briefing in New Delhi.
The Health Minister thanked the US government for the gift through COVAX and hoped to get more vaccines from the USA.
READ: Bangabandhu’s support for humanism reflected in his 'Unfinished Memoirs': FM
The United States’ gift from the American people of 2.5 million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh, was delivered via COVAX.
The United States said it is committed to leading the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic and this summer, they will begin allocating the 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine it is providing to GAVI for distribution by COVAX to countries around the world.
Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday night received the first consignment of 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine under the COVAX framework.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Secretary of Health Services Division Lokman Hossain Miah, and other high officials of the Bangladesh government were also present.
The second consignment will reach Dhaka on Saturday morning.
Also read: Bangladesh to receive 45 lakh vaccine doses from COVAX, China within 2 days: Minister
These 2.5 million vaccine doses are part of the US government's recent allocation of 25 million vaccine doses for countries in Asia through COVAX.
Zydus seeks nod for world’s first plasmid DNA Covid vaccine
Homegrown healthcare and pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the office of the Drug Controller General of India for ZyCoV-D, its plasmid DNA vaccine against Covid-19.
"As the first-ever plasmid DNA vaccine for human use, ZyCoV-D has proven its safety and efficacy profile in our fight against Covid-19. The vaccine, when approved, will help not only adults but also adolescents in the 12-to-18-years age group," said Dr Sharvil Patel, MD, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, the flagship of the Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila Group.
Read: Vaccine maker Serum seeks indemnity protection in India
ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA vaccine which, when injected, produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system, which play a vital role in protection from the disease as well as viral clearance.
ZyCoV-D has also been tested on adolescents between 12 and 18 years in India. Around 1,000 subjects in this age group were enrolled and the vaccine was found to be safe and very well tolerated. The tolerability profile was similar to that seen in the adult population.
Zydus is currently setting up a new facility to manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine. "Once the facility is commissioned by the end of this month, we can produce around one crore doses of the vaccine," added Patel, who refrained from giving a specific time line for the launch of the vaccine but stated that it can be done aggressively within 45-60 days once it gets regulatory approval.
Zydus Cadila has so far invested up to Rs 500 crore in the development of this vaccine, including the cost of establishing a new manufacturing facility.
According to Zydus, the plug-and-play technology on which the plasmid DNA platform is based is ideally suited for dealing with Covid-19 as it can be easily adapted to deal with virus mutations.
The company has also evaluated a two-dose regimen for ZyCoV-D using a 3mg dose per visit. The immunogenicity results had been found to be equivalent to the current three-dose regimen.
"This will further help in reducing the full course duration of vaccination while maintaining the high safety profile of the vaccine in the future," Patel added.
This article was first published in The Times of India
SII says working on Covishield EU pass
The Serum Institute of India (SII) is approaching the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval to its Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, for the European Union’s Green Pass, a document that will ease travel within and to the bloc, people aware of the matter said on Monday
EMA currently recognises only four Covid-19 vaccines that have received EU-wide marketing authorisation so far, reports Hindustan Times.
READ: Serum gets govt nod to produce Sputnik vaccine in India
Indian officials said it was “perplexing” that the list includes Vaxzevria, the AstraZeneca vaccine produced and marketed in the UK and other sites around Europe, but not Covishield, the version manufactured and distributed in India, though they are similar if not identical.
The issue of Covishield’s approval by EMA is also expected to be taken up by the Indian side with European Union (EU) officials on the margins of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Italy on June 29, said people familiar with developments, even as SII’s CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Monday that he has taken up the matter at the highest level to ensure Indians don’t face any travel restrictions.
Health minister hopes to get 11 crore vaccine doses by December
Bangladesh hopes to procure 11 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from different sources by December enabling it to provide the jabs to over five crore people, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Saturday.
Speaking at Manikganj Maleque said that negotiations are at an advanced level to sign a vaccine agreement with Russia.
He also added that the country will also receive doses of the Moderna vaccine very soon.
Read: Bangladesh to get 2.5 mn doses of Moderna vaccine
The minister also stated that negotiations with the relevant stakeholders to manufacture vaccines in the country are going on in full swing.
Countries like Bangladesh need support for vaccine production: FM
Countries like Bangladesh that have the capability of producing vaccines should be allowed and supported in producing those, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.
He made the proposal while delivering his speech at the Asia Pacific high-level conference on Belt and Road Cooperation
on “Promoting Cooperation on Combating the Pandemic for Sustainable Recovery” held virtually on Wednesday night.
Wang Yi, State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, chaired the meeting.
Also read: Covid vaccine apparently emerged as another tool of exploitation: FM
Under the robust leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dr Momen said, Bangladesh achieved success in managing the first wave of cornonavirus.
"However, we are facing difficulty in the second wave due to shortage of vaccines," he said.
Despite all good intentions, their actions will go in vain if the availability, access, and distribution of necessary finance are not in place for recovery from this crisis, Dr Momen said.
"Given the scale of threat posed by COVID19, we need a globally harmonised structure of financial infrastructure," he said.
In his five-point proposal, Dr Momen sought rapid information sharing nationally and globally through digital means e.g. live data, in a time-sensitive manner; taking globally united and coordinated efforts to combat against the common enemy; stronger and concerted advocacy with the vaccine producing states to strengthen COVAX by WHO, while ensuring ‘free to choose’; and to ensure that no one is left behind, to declare the Covid-19 vaccines a global public good, and to implement its distribution through strong international cooperation.
Also read: Serum may resume vaccine export in July/August
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has not spared any country from its devastating impacts, the least developed and developing countries are the most affected, he said.
"This is happening while the same groups of countries are already grappling with the adverse ramifications of climate change."
The Foreign Minister said timely sharing of transparent and correct information at the national, regional and global level is of the essence in abating the impacts of Covid-19 crisis.
This calls for fortification of digital infrastructure, both intra and inter-nations, for smooth transmission of critical data on issues inter-alia country experience, management, and best proven interventions, he said.
Such data sharing would help in augmenting country and region-specific information tools for better policy devising, Dr Momen said.
He said vaccines remain the centrepiece in the effective fight against the pandemic. "Bangladesh believes that vaccines should be declared as a global public good."
He said it is encouraging to see countries like China playing important roles for availability of vaccines.
"The COVAX initiative by WHO is highly laudable. Thus, to realise the objectives of such multilateral efforts, we need transitioning to non-linear, big data driven, and prioritised supply chain systems to ensure availability, access, and affordability of vaccines to build back better and stronger socio-economically," he said.
Dr Momen said infrastructure will play a critical role in this regard. "Bangladesh is ready and willing to work with the BRI partners to develop sustainable infrastructures for the benefit of the peoples in Asia-Pacific."
Also read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
"At the same time, through our Chairmanship of the 48-member Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and V20, we are going the extra mile in ensuring a climate resilient recovery from this pandemic not only for ourselves but also for the whole membership CVF," he said.