US to send more than 8 million Covid vaccines to Bangladesh
The vaccines -- all Pfizer-BioNTech -- are being donated through the World Health Organization's Covax program
The United Sates is going to send more than eight million vaccines to Bangladesh as well as Philippines in the latest wave of aid to a world still struggling to tame the pandemic.
The country announced on Friday that the 2,508,480 doses will arrive early next week in Bangladesh, reports AFP.
Five shipments totalling 5,575,050 doses will go the Philippines by next week.
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The vaccines -- all Pfizer-BioNTech -- are being donated through the World Health Organization's Covax program.
The "administration understands that putting an end to this pandemic requires eliminating it around the world," the official said, noting that US donations represent "the largest-ever purchase and donation of vaccines by a single country."
Hard-hit Bangladesh has already received millions of US vaccine doses, including another 2.5 million sent just last week.
According to AFP's database, only about 10 percent of Bangladesh's population has been fully vaccinated.
The impoverished country of about 170 million people, which neighbors India, has imposed some of the world's longest lockdowns in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.5 million infections, including over 38,000 deaths. Just over a quarter of the adult population has been fully vaccinated amid a delayed and slow vaccination rollout.
Officials warn the economy could take more than a decade to recover from the pandemic impact, which has thrown millions out of work.
Nearly 70 percent of the economy, including 23.3 million workers, remained under "heightened quarantine" restrictions, Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said Thursday.
