Bangladesh gets over 4m Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs from UK
The UK has donated the vaccine to Bangladesh through the COVAX vaccine sharing mechanism
A consignment of more than 4 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the United Kingdom has reached Dhaka on Monday.
The UK donated the vaccine manufactured by Oxford BioMedica in Oxford, to Bangladesh through the COVAX vaccine sharing program.
This donation came following the UK commitment at the G7 meeting this year, to donate 100 million doses by June 2022, said a press statement.
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According to the statement, 80% of those doses donated by the UK will be distributed through the COVAX facility.
"We welcome the arrival of over 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the UK to Bangladesh. Like the rest of the world, the UK and Bangladesh have experienced difficult times because of the pandemic. And we are both in it together in building back better, safer, greener," British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson said in the press statement.
"This vaccine donation by the UK is a powerful demonstration of 'Brit Bangla Bondhon' between the two countries. The UK will do everything we can to support Bangladesh to save lives and defeat the pandemic," he added.
Earlier, the UK provided £90 million to support the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and make it affordable around the world. Consequently, AstraZeneca agreed to distribute it at a non-profit price during the pandemic.
The UK has been supporting the Bangladesh Ministry of Health to develop a well-coordinated national response plan to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, resourced by all development partners and the Government of Bangladesh.
