Five lakh China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine doses, donated by the Chinese government to Bangladesh, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday (May 12, 2021). A flight, carrying the vaccine, reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the morning. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is scheduled to attend a programme and receive the vaccine at 11:15 am at State Guest House Padma. Read:5 lakh doses of Chinese vaccine to arrive on May 12: Envoy Although facing difficulties of huge domestic demand and a tight supply of the international market, China gave priority to ensuring that the vaccine doses reach Bangladesh as soon as possible, and has now successfully made it a special gift of Eid Festival to the government and people of Bangladesh, which demonstrates the profound traditional friendship between the two countries. Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, China and Bangladesh have been supporting and assisting each other to fight together against the pandemic. China has donated and is donating vaccine doses to 80 developing countries with urgent needs, and has provided support under COVAX for the emergency use of vaccines in developing countries. Read: Ready to offer more support if Covid situation deteriorates in Bangladesh: China China has fulfilled its solemn commitment to make the Covid-19 vaccine a global public good with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China’s contribution to the realisation of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. China will continue to make joint efforts with Bangladesh to make positive contributions to Bangladesh’s endeavour of protecting human lives and fight to win the battle against the pandemic, and together to build an even closer community of shared future and health for mankind. Read Sinopharm begins shipment of its vaccine to Bangladesh

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said China is ready to help Bangladesh with more medical supplies, including medical oxygen, if the situation gets worse as it is facing the second wave of Covid-19. “China is ready to offer more, if needed,” he said, recalling how Bangladesh and China helped each other in dealing with the first wave of Covid-19. Read:Chinese Embassy invites essays from Bangladeshi friends Ambassador Li said they will do whatever they can during the second wave of Covid-19 in Bangladesh. He said this pandemic unseen in a century is a global challenge, and past experience keeps reminding them that only through cooperation within the international community they can embrace victory. “Bangladesh has done what it can to fight the pandemic, and it’s my strong conviction that with the joint efforts of the people of Bangladesh and government, and the help of the international community, Bangladesh’s V-Day over Covid-19 will be just around the corner,” said the Chinese Ambassador. He made the remarks during a virtual programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) on Monday. DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event. The Ambassador said it is believed that the safe and reliable Chinese vaccine will play a positive role in the construction of Bangladesh’s anti-epidemic defence line, help the people of Bangladesh to overcome the epidemic, and continue the friendship story between the two countries. He said, “The virus respects no boundary, and we’re all in this together. Solidarity and cooperation are our most powerful weapon in this war.” The envoy said China hopes all parties will take real action, provide more vaccines to developing countries, including Bangladesh, and contribute to the equitable distribution and application of vaccines across the world so that we can defeat the virus at an early date. Some 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines gifted by the Chinese government to Bangladesh will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday. Ambassador Li said it is a concrete step towards honoring President Xi Jinping’s pledge of making Covid-19 vaccines a global public good, a solid action taken by both sides towards building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a powerful measure to implement the consensus reached in the recent virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Covid-19. Read:5 lakh doses of Chinese vaccine to arrive on May 12: Envoy This vaccine gift (Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine) is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group. The World Health Organization (WHO) listed the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally. The Sinopharm product is an inactivated vaccine called SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell). He said its efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalised disease was estimated to be over 79%, all age groups combined and its easy storage requirements make it highly suitable for low-resource settings. The envoy said it is also the first vaccine that will carry a vaccine vial monitor, a small sticker on the vaccine vials that change color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, letting health workers know whether the vaccine can be safely used. Last year, at China’s most trying moments, Bangladesh was among the first countries to donate medical supplies to China in a great act of valuable support. When the epidemic situation in China eased, China supported Bangladesh’s fight against the virus through various means including gifting medical supplies and sending medical experts. China offered to gift vaccines to Bangladesh in February but the Embassy did not get the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) from the government of Bangladesh until April 30. Though facing difficulties of huge domestic demand and a tight supply of international market, China decided to give priority to ensuring that the vaccines arrive in Bangladesh as soon as possible, said the Ambassador. He said although it was the May Day holiday in China (five days), many Chinese workers worked overtime and sacrificed personal rest time to rush out these vaccines in less than two weeks. Read:Beijing wants Dhaka not to join Quad The Ambassador said it is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and with the great spirit of fighting the pandemic that they are able to conquer the virus. The year 2021 marks the birth centenary of the CPC which, in the days to come, will continue leading the Chinese people to work relentlessly to fight the pandemic, promote global economic recovery and defend peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom which are shared values of humanity, he said.  

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Monday officially announced that 5 lakh doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine will reach Bangladesh on May 12 as a “special gift”. "It's the latest outcome of China-Bangladesh anti-pandemic cooperation which again shows that our two peoples are in the same boat and we will stand with each other till the end of this battle," he said. The Ambassador made the announcement during an interaction with the members of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) held virtually. DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event. Read Russian Vaccine Sputnik V: Things we should know to fight COVID-19 "China is dedicated to international vaccine cooperation," said the Chinese envoy, adding that the Sinopharm vaccine has already been recognised and used in over 50 countries and regions globally for quite some time. “This is a new vote of confidence in China’s vaccines cast by the world. The Bangladeshi government also gave emergency use authorisation to the vaccine a week prior to the WHO’s clearance, which I believe is a far-sighted decision. It shows the faith put in China by Bangladesh, and it will surely mean a lot to our future cooperation,” he said. According to clinical statistics provided by Sinopharm and the evaluation of the WHO, the efficacy rate of the vaccine is estimated to reach 79%, all age groups included. Also read: Decision on China vaccine after consulting advisory body: Health Minister Ambassador Li said the vaccine is recommended for adults aged 18 and older, and WHO did not indicate any upper age limit for use as data suggests that the vaccine is likely to have a protective effect in elder persons. “It is also the first vaccine carrying a vial monitor, a small sticker on the vaccine vials that changes colour with the exposure to heat, thus warning health professionals if any doses go bad,” he said.  As the Covid-19 is still wreaking a havoc on people’s lives and disturbing social and economic activities in Bangladesh, the 500 thousand doses of vaccine are arriving just in time. It is the latest outcome of China-Bangladesh anti-pandemic cooperation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally. The Sinopharm vaccine is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, subsidiary of China National Biotec Group (CNBG). Bangladesh has kept up its intensified efforts to get Oxford-AstraZeneca and China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines from India, China and the United States. The Chinese Ambassador said China proposed providing the vaccine doses as a gift on February 3 and the government of Bangladesh took three months to approve it. He said there is a high demand of Chinese vaccines and it will take time to get vaccines through commercial purchase. The Ambassador said Bangladesh proposed getting Chinese vaccines through commercial purchase on April 30 and Bangladesh could have got those much earlier if the decision had been taken timely.   He laid emphasis on quick and effective decisions by the government of Bangladesh on issues like vaccines.  Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Saturday said there is nothing to be worried about the availability of vaccines noting that the government will have enough vaccines soon from alternative sources. “I believe we'll have enough vaccines. No person should be worried about it. Vaccines will come timely and all will get it,” he said in a video message shared on his verified Facebook page. The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh is much ahead of many countries in the world in procuring vaccines and launching vaccination drives across the country. Also read: UN chief urges all to act collectively to recover from COVID-19 ...