NEW DELHI: Bangladesh obtained two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday, February 23. This is the second batch of the vaccine from SII as part of the tripartite deal with Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited and the Government of Bangladesh to supply 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine produced by it.
Previously, a consignment of five million doses of the vaccine was received by the Bangladesh on Monday, January 25 from the SII. India has also gifted 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh. With the latest shipment from India, Bangladesh has received 9 million doses of the vaccine produced by the SII.
The nationwide vaccination programme against COVID-19 in Bangladesh started on Sunday, February 7, after being inaugurated on Sunday, January 27, by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. After the first few days, the vaccination programme has accelerated in Bangladesh. On Monday, February 22, more than 2.34 lakh people received the COVID-19 vaccine in the country, taking the total number of people vaccinated till Monday over 20.82 lakh.