Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today
said the government has ordered 75 million doses of Chinese Sinopharm
COVID vaccine to purchase while already made the payment of 15 million
doses out of it.

“We ordered 75 million doses Sinopharm (vaccine) … and we have
already sent money for 15 million doses out of these,” he told media
at State Guest House Padma in the capital.

Apart from purchasing vaccine, the foreign minister said that Dhaka
would receive 34 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine next week and one
million more doses of AstraZeneca vaccine later this month under COVAX
framework.

Besides, he said, Bangladesh is scheduled to get six
million more doses of Pfizer vaccine in the first week of September
under the COVAX as well.

COVAX, a global alliance, is a worldwide initiative aimed at
equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance.

“We have made a good line up of vaccine …. (as) we would like to
make at least half of our population vaccinated,” he said, adding that
currently the health ministry has 12.3 million doses of different
kinds of COVID vaccine.

Saying that vaccine coproduction is very crucial to fulfil the
government’s target to vaccinate most of the countrymen, Momen
announced that the tentative agreement over vaccine coproduction with
China would be signed anytime. production of its Sinopharm COVID
vaccine with a local Bangladeshi pharmaceutical here on July 16.

“We have forwarded it (the draft MoU) right way to the Health
Ministry,” Momen said.

Mentioning that the law ministry also vetted the draft agreement,
Momen said, “Everything (MoU) is fine … any minute they can sign
(the agreement)”.