The government will start administering the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with the doses received from Japan under the Covax facility, officials say.
The first coronavirus vaccination program in the country started with the Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs. However, due to lack of supply of vaccines, many were left waiting for the second dose.
“We have already received some vaccine doses from the Japanese government and will soon start vaccinating those waiting for the second dose,” Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Spokesperson Prof Nazmul Islam said on Wednesday.
Dr Nazmul Islam said: “We are hopeful about getting more Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines due to the multifaceted steps taken by the government.”
The vaccination program started in the country on February 7. Initially, the program was started with the covishield vaccine invented by Oxford-AstraZeneca and manufactured at the Serum Institute of India.
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However, after the Indian government banned the export there arose a vaccine crisis in Bangladesh and the country had to suspend administering the first dose of the vaccine from April 25.
As of Tuesday, 1.45 million people are waiting for the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
On Saturday, 245,000 doses of the vaccine gifted by the Japanese government came to the country under the Covax facility.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki handed over the vaccines to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. At that time, the Japanese ambassador said: “In the next one month, about 2.8 million more doses of the vaccine will come to Bangladesh from Japan.”
Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu has announced that Japan will supply 11 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to 15 countries under the Covax facility. Bangladesh is on the list as well and is supposed to receive 2.9 million doses.
Dr Nazmul Islam said that Sinopharm, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had already been rolled out in the country.
He urged everyone to help others register for the vaccine.
