coronavirus vaccine
Govt approves proposal to import Sinofarm vaccine
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Service Division to import Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, disclosed this while briefing reporters after a meeting of the committee.
She, however, did not provide any detail about the price of the Chinese vaccine and its quantity. “It’s just an approval made in principle. Details of the proposal will be known when it’ll come again for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase.”
Dr Shahida said the proposal was instantly placed on the table during the virtual meeting.
She said the CCEA approved another proposal of the Health Service Division to import 40 Oxygen generators to be used for the treatment of Covid patients.
Also read: Dhaka requests Delhi to send vaccine to Bangladesh soon
The Central Medicine Store Department (CMSD) will import the oxygen generators.
Another proposal made by the Industries Ministry received approval of the CCEA to sign a contract for the import of 1.28 million metric tons of fertiliser from three countries for the fiscal year 2021-2022.
Of the bulk fertiliser, 500,000 mt will be imported from Muntajar Qatar, 500,000 mt from Sabic of Saudi Arabia and 250,000 mt from Fertiglbe of the UAE.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) approved nine proposals, including the import of LNG and awarding a contract for installing a 400MW power plant to a Chinese contractor.
As per the proposal, state-owned Petrobangla will import 3.360 million MMBtu of (liquified natural gas) LNG from AOT Trading of Switzerland at a cost of Tk 340.62 crore -- $10.199 per unit.
Also read: Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
State-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will award an EPC contract to Chinese contractor SEPCO-III Electric Power Construction Company Ltd, at a cost of Tk 1,796.72 crore to set up a 400MW gas-fired power plant at Raozan Power Station in Chattogram.
The plant will be installed replacing the existing one.
A proposal of the Bangladesh Police received approval of the committee to award a contract Joint Venture of (1) Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd, Dhaka and (2) Digicon Technologies Ltd, Dhaka to introduce surveillance systems on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.
Under the contract, the contractor will set up CCTV monitoring systems and other infrastructure on the highway.
Two other proposals of the Directorate General of Food (DGF) received approval of the CCPP.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
The DGF will award a Tk 261.70 contract to the Joint Venture of (1) Beximco Computers Limited, Bangladesh, (2) Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd. Bangladesh, (3) Tech Mahindra Ltd. India, and (4) Tech Valley Networks Ltd. Bangladesh to install software, set up data centres and monitoring systems at all the food storehouses across the country under the package No-GD-27 of the “Modern Food Storage Facilities (MFSP)” project.
The DGF will award another contract of Tk 330.86 crore under the package No-W-21 of the same project to Joint Venture of (1) Confidence Infrastructure Limited, Bangladesh and (2) The GSI Group LLC, USA to set up a food steel silo for rice at Barisal.
Payra Port Authority’s tender proposal to award a Tk 5,629.18 crore contract to Jan De Nul (JDN), a Belgium-based dredging company, to conduct capital dredging and maintenance at the Rabonabad channel of the Payra Port received approval of the committee.
Another proposal of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) under the Shipping Ministry received approval of the CCPP to award a contract to Karnaphuli Ship Builders Ltd., to construct and supply four coastal passenger vessels at a cost of Tk 230.95 crore.
Covid-19: Bangladesh again sees steep rise in deaths, new cases
Bangladesh on Wednesday witnessed 37 more Covid-19 related deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday morning.
The death tally now stands at 12,248 while the mortality rate remains static at 1.56%.
Besides, the country saw 1,608 new cases with an increased number of tests as 20,538 samples were tested during the period, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The infection rate rose to 7.83% from Tuesday’s 7.55%.
Also read: Govt approves proposal to import Sinofarm vaccine
The country reported 30 deaths from the virus on Tuesday and 32 on Monday.
Among the latest fatalities, 24 are men and 13 are women.
Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
Bangladesh will receive a minimum of 1,06,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine by June 2, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Tuesday.
The doses will be sent to Bangladesh under the COVAX scheme which is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), said Maidul Islam, the public relation officer of the ministry.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has an efficacy of 95% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.
However, preliminary laboratory studies of the mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna have shown decreased effectiveness against the double mutant variants discovered in India, WHO said in a note.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
Bangladesh has sought at least 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada on an emergency basis to meet the emergency need of 1.6 million doses of the vaccine to provide second doses.
"This is at present a high priority for Bangladesh," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen during his meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Préfontaine on Tuesday.
Referring to recent statement of Canadian Procurement Minister Anita Anand that Canadian Government might distribute excess stockpiles of AstraZeneca vaccine among developing countries, Dr Momen urged the Canadian High Commissioner to pursue his Government so that Bangladesh receives AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada.
He also underscored that such supply of vaccine should be directly sent to Bangladesh, as has been done for some other countries like Pakistan, rather than through the COVAX programme of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The main point of discussion was on the possibility of receiving AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada to meet up immediate second dose vaccine requirements in Bangladesh.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh acted fast on collecting vaccine by concluding the agreement with the Serum Institute in India to procure 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and is now in a difficult situation as only 10.2 million doses of vaccine has been received from India.
He said the prospect of getting more is low due to the ongoing massive COVID-19 outbreak in India.
Dr Momen also proposed that Canada may help vaccinating forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh separately.
Foreign Minister Momen also apprised the Canadian High Commissioner of the Government’s efforts to acquire vaccine from some other countries including China, Russia and the US.
The Canadian High Commissioner assured that he will follow up with his government about Bangladesh’s request to provide 2 million doses of vaccine immediately, which is also being followed up with the Canadian Government by Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa.
The Bangladesh Foreign Minister also thanked Canada for its continued strong political and humanitarian support for the Rohingya crisis, underscoring that sustainable return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is the solution.
He also reiterated Bangladesh’s expectation that Canada would extend Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) access to Bangladeshi export products till 2027, and also would commence negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh soon.
Dr Momen reiterated Bangladesh’s strong expectation that Nur Chowdhury, the convicted killer of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, would be returned back to Bangladesh in near future.
High Commissioner Préfontaine stated that Canada would continue its humanitarian support for displaced Rohingyas and host communities at the same scale for next three years, as was reflected in their budgetary framework for next three years.
He also underscored that Canada is willing to enhance its economic cooperation with Bangladesh, including in areas of trade and investment.
Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
Though local pharmaceutical companies are showing a growing interest in either procuring or manufacturing Covid vaccines, local health experts say it is the government, not the private sector that should collect or produce jabs for ensuring their quality, affordability, and accessibility.
They also voiced doubt about the capabilities of the three companies that proposed the government to manufacture Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in Bangladesh.
The analysts suggested the government assess whether the Institute of Public Health (IPH) or state-owned Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) can be modernised within a short period of time to manufacture Covid vaccines.
Read Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
Private initiatives
Robed Amin, the spokesman of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said three local companies -- Incepta, Unihealth and Popular pharmaceuticals -- have shown their interest in manufacturing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
He said the companies gave their proposals to the government for producing the same vaccine and their capabilities will be scrutinised.
Besides, the DGHS official said Renata Limited, another Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company, has sought permission from the government to import Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine and discussions are going on in this regard.
Robed said the government is also assessing the prospect of manufacturing any vaccine here either by private companies or any public institution.
Read: Will do our best to support vaccine rollout in neighbouring countries: India
Are they capable of manufacturing?
Though the three companies are talking about manufacturing vaccines, Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (Disease Control), DGHS, said he has a doubt about their capacity to do so.
He said these companies can import vaccines in bulk from Russia or China for marketing it after bottling or packaging here. “But it’ll take a plenty of time to meet the demand through importing vaccines in bulk. The government should seriously evaluate the capacities of the companies applied for permission to produce vaccines.”
Dr Be-Nazir said Incepta is currently importing tetanus vaccine in bulk from abroad and marketing it through bottling here.
Read: Covid vaccines should be declared as global public goods: PM Hasina
Prof Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser to WHO South-East Asia region, also thinks these companies are not well-equipped to manufacture the vaccine.
“Bangladeshi companies surely produce very quality medicine. But they don’t have adequate preparations and facilities to produce the Covid vaccine. As some companies are showing their interest in manufacturing it, their capacity should be properly examined.”
Bangladesh’s request for vaccine doses under active consideration: Miller
The United States has said it is actively considering the request made by the Bangladesh government over the supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses to meet Bangladesh’s immediate needs.
Bangladesh will get a reply of the letter, sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, within the next couple of days.
“Two things he (Ambassador Miller) said. It’s (the request for vaccine doses) under active consideration and the Ambassador expects Bangladesh will get a reply as early as possible -- within a day or two,” said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam after his meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller.
While talking to a small group of journalists, including the UNB correspondent, at his office, the State Minister said they will be waiting to know the content of the reply.
Also Read:Ambassador Miller praises power of young minds in Bangladesh
Meanwhile, he said, US companies are in touch with the Health Ministry as they have a long-term plan of producing vaccines in Bangladesh.
The Ambassador informed that the US government is exploring the possibilities to produce US vaccines in Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies.
The State Minister and the US Ambassador also discussed the ongoing cooperation between two countries in combating Covid-19 pandemic apart from the issue of providing vaccines for meeting Bangladesh’s immediate needs.
The US Ambassador informed that his government is working on this, and he has recommended having a regional approach in South Asia in distributing vaccines from the US.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the government has sought immediate delivery of 4 million vaccine doses from the United States.
The US will share up to 60 million doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries as they become available.
“We’ve sought immediate release of four million doses of vaccine (in a letter sent to the US),” he told reporters, adding that he, however, sought a total of 10 to 20 million doses of vaccine from the US.
Also Read: Miller discusses JRP, bilateral issues with Shahriar
Dr Momen said the government wants to continue the vaccination programme collecting vaccines from alternative sources.
The Foreign Minister had a meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller at his office on Thursday.
Dr Momen asked the US Ambassador whether they provided any vaccine to India. In reply, Ambassador Miller said they have provided no vaccine to India yet.
The Foreign Minister said the US government needs permission from the Food and Drug Administration to export vaccines which is a time-consuming process. “But we need it immediately.”
Dr Momen said they have also written to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar requesting for 3 million doses of vaccine to address Bangladesh's immediate needs.
Bangladesh has received 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift. This is the largest amount sent from India to any country.
Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death
The Indonesian government said Sunday (May 16, 2021) it has suspended the distribution and use of a batch of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after his inoculation with the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health called the suspension "a prudent effort by the government to ensure the safety of the vaccine," and said it plans to continue to use other batches of the vaccine it has received.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
The results of sterility and toxicity tests by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency are expected to come out within one to two weeks.
The batch in question, consisting of about 450,000 doses, arrived last month. It is part of the 3,852,000 AstraZeneca doses that Indonesia has received through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility.
Also read: Governments give varying advice on AstraZeneca vaccine
COVAX is an international vaccine distribution platform set up to ensure equitable access to shots for developing countries.
Local media reported that the man received a jab from the batch in the capital Jakarta on May 5 and died the next day. The batch had been distributed to Jakarta and North Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia, as well as to the military, according to the ministry.
Also read: EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot
Indonesia has fully inoculated almost 9 million of its 187 million eligible citizens under a nationwide vaccination drive that started in mid-January.
Britain yet to decide on Pfizer offer to vaccinate Olympians
The British government is still deciding whether to accept an offer from Pfizer to fast-track Olympic and Paralympic athletes for coronavirus vaccines.
Jabs are only being given to Britons aged 38 or older - though this will be extended to those over 35 from next week - with younger people only getting inoculated if they have an underlying health condition.
It s sensitive because the philosophy has been based on age and that s been proved to be the right thing, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said. The biggest indicator is age is the biggest factor and of course Pfizer have offered for the Olympics and we ve asked them about that.
Pfizer, which developed a vaccine with BioNTech, said earlier this month said that it would donate doses to inoculate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo games with the rescheduled Olympics due to open on July 23.
While the Olympics begin in less than 10 weeks, Britain has a policy of delaying the second dose by up to 12 weeks to free up vaccines for more people. Britain announced Sunday that more than 20 million people have now received both doses. The two shots of the Pfizer vaccines were intended to be given three to four weeks apart.
The government s vaccine rollout has been excellent and, coupled with the IOC s donation of the Pfizer vaccine for athletes, means we are hopeful of getting all athletes vaccinated before they travel to Tokyo, British Olympic Association chairman Hugh Robertson said. It is important for this to happen soon, to assure our hosts in Tokyo that we are doing all we can to keep their population safe.
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the European nations to have already offered vaccines to delegations headed to Tokyo.
Japan has been struggling to slow infections ahead of the games and expanded a coronavirus state of emergency from six areas, including Tokyo, to nine on Friday.
BAF aircraft leaves Dhaka to bring 5 lakh doses of Corona vaccine from China
Thirteen aircrew of Bangladesh Air Force left Dhaka for China on Tuesday (May 11, 2021) morning by BAF C-130J aircraft to bring 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine and AD syringes.
Wing Commander Md Habibur Rahman is leading the team.
Also read: Ready to offer more support if Covid situation deteriorates in Bangladesh: China
Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat has provided necessary guidance to carry out this goodwill mission.
In compliance with the policies published by the government, the Armed Forces is conducting various activities under the direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Also read: BAF aircraft ferries medical aid from China
In line with this, the goodwill mission is being conducted to bring vaccine and AD syringes provided by China as a sign of its friendly relations with Bangladesh, according to a media release of the Inter Service Public Relation Directorate issued Tuesday evening.
The BAF aircraft is expected to return home on Wednesday.
Also read: Covid-19: BAF aircraft brings medical aid from S Korea
Covid-19 death toll in Bangladesh crosses 12,000
Bangladesh on Tuesday crossed the grim milestone of 12,000 coronavirus fatalities, nearly 15 months after reporting the first death in March last year.
With 33 latest fatalities in 24 hours until morning, the death tally soared to 12,005.
The country has been seeing below 60 daily deaths for a week after recording over 100 fatalities on several occasions last month.
However, the mortality rate rose to 1.55 percent after staying at 1.54 for four days, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, 1,230 new cases were detected after testing of 14,184 samples, pushing up the caseload to 776,257. Bangladesh has so far carried out 5,661,926 tests.
The daily infection rate fell slightly to 8.67 percent from Monday’s 8.99 percent.
Also read: Ready to offer more support if Covid situation deteriorates in Bangladesh: China
After a massive upsurge in April, the number of daily cases fell below 2,000 since May 1.
However, the number of tests, as well as new cases, has declined from May 4, according to corona.gov.bd.