Bangladesh has signed a three-party agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the vaccine of coronavirus, manufactured by Oxford University.
Bangladesh will bring 3 crore doses of vaccine for the first time under the agreement. The government is moving ahead with a plan to bring vaccines in the first place on priority basis.
Meanwhile, the government has started financial preparations for the vaccine.Bangladesh is reported to have paid around Tk. 25,000 crore for the first time to bring vaccines. The cost of a vaccine will be $4, i.e. Tk. 339 in Bangladeshi currency. It will be sold for $5 or Tk. 423. Vaccines can also be given to the public for free.
However, the government has not yet made a final decision on the issue.About Tk. 14,000 crore will be required to buy the vaccine for 16 crore people in the country. The Ministry of Health has asked the finance department for Tk. 1,271 crore for vaccines. The Finance Department has released Tk. 635 crore to buy vaccines on Monday (November 16).
The budget for the current fiscal 2020-21 has been allocated Tk. 10,000 crore. Development partners, on the other hand, have pledged to pay Tk. 8,500 crore to buy vaccines.The Secretary of Health division, Md. Abdul Mannan said the money that was released was the primary lot. He said the remaining money would be released in a period of time.Meanwhile, the government's revenue has been reduced due to the crisis in the country. So there is some confusion about the funding of vaccines.
However, the government is trying to get the vaccine money from its own point of location. The government is in talks with development partners to ensure vaccine for the country's 16 million people. Finance Minister A.H. M. Mustafa Kamal has repeatedly urged development partners to ensure the receipt of vaccine at the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF held in October.The world is working together to prevent the infection of the deadly coronavirus.
Scientists from all over the world are working day and night to develop vaccine. China, the United States, Russia and several other countries are at the forefront of this race. Meanwhile, US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have claimed 90 and 95 percent of their vaccine in the final test.
They can bring vaccines in the market by the end of this year. On the other hand, the UK's Oxford-discovered vaccine is expected to come to market in the coming months. Bangladesh is trying to get the vaccine on priority basis.
When asked about the availability of vaccine, Dr. Mozaharul Haque, a former adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), a South Asia region, said according to the rules, 20 percent of the population in each country will get vaccines on priority basis, Mozherul Haque said. Health workers will be the frontliners in this case. The poor countries have the opportunity to get vaccines through the GAVI funding, which will also benefit Bangladesh.