Govt to allow private import, use of Covid vaccine
The government will permit import and use of Covid-19 vaccines by private organisations, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
"The government will set the price of the jabs. The prices of different vaccines may vary. We will formulate policy for fixing the vaccine price," the minister told media in a briefing at Dhaka Reporters' Unity today.
Zahid Maleque said, "Serum Institute of India will export the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh by 26 January. We will get 50 lakh doses of the vaccine. Besides, the Indian government will send some Covid vaccines to Bangladesh as gift.
He also said that the government will bear the expenses for treatment if anyone face any side effect after taking Covid-19 vaccine.
Serum Institute of India will sell the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh at $4 a dose, three sources with knowledge of the mater told Reuters, about 47% more than India will pay for its inoculation campaign.
Serum, which has stockpiled 50 million doses of the vaccine in India, has signed an initial deal to sell 11 million of the shots to the Indian government for 200 rupees ($2.72) per dose.
The rate for India is lower given the massive demand for vaccines in the country of 1.35 billion. Indian regulators have already approved Covishield for emergency use.
The pricing for Bangladesh, the world's eighth-most populous country, provides a first glimpse of what it will cost other low- and middle-income countries that are seeking to secure the vaccine developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca with Oxford University.
Bangladesh, a country of more than 160 million people, in November signed a preliminary agreement to buy 30 million doses of the shot from Serum - the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume.