Bangladesh hopes to export Covid vaccine: Health minister
“We need 26 crore doses of the vaccine for inoculation of 80% of the population, so we need more vaccines.”, he says
Bangladesh hopes to export Covid vaccine after meeting the domestic demand, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday.
Prime Minister has also instructed to take measures to produce vaccines under the authority of the state as she wants to make the country self-sufficient in the coronavirus vaccine, he added while speaking at the signing ceremony of a tripartite agreement of the government with the Chinese company Sinopharm and local drug manufacturer Incepta Pharmaceuticals.
"We need 26 crore doses of the vaccine for inoculation of 80% of the population, so we need more vaccines."
Incepta Pharmaceuticals will begin co-production of the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine with Sinopharm within three months, the health minister hoped.
He, however, said the time for starting the vaccine production is not fixed.
After launching the co-production, Incepta will be able to produce 4 crore doses of the vaccine per month, he said.
Sinopharm vaccine is relatively easier to store compared to its counterparts and the authorities concerned are distributing the doses from the capital to the union level.