First consignment of 1.06 lakh Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines reach Dhaka

The first consignment of 1.06 lakh doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka tonight.

"The vaccine jabs arrived at 11:22 pm," Md Shamsul Haque, a line director at the Directorate General of Health Services, told The Daily Star.

He said they are now preparing to take those vaccines to the government-designated warehouses.

The Pfizer vaccine doses have been brought to Bangladesh as part of the global vaccine initiative COVAX.

Health department officials received the vaccine at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) on May 27 approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine in the country.

Bangladesh is expected to receive 6.8 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX.

The vaccine, produced by Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium NV, is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine approved so far by the DGDA for emergency use in Bangladesh.

The other three are: Covishield, produced by Serum Institute of India; Sputnik V, manufactured by Generium Joint Stock Company of Russia; and Sinopharm, produced by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd of China.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), and the World Health Organization are co-leads of the COVAX initiative for equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines.