Cabinet okays direct vaccine purchase
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs yesterday approved in principle a proposal of the Health Services Division to procure Covid-19 vaccine directly from any organisation through negotiations without following any bidding process.
"The cabinet body approved a proposal of the Health Services Division [under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare] to procure Covid-19 vaccine worth over Tk 5 crore by applying the direct procurement method," said Abu Saleh, additional secretary of the cabinet division.
He was briefing reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee.
Abu Saleh, however, said, "This committee has just given the approval in principle to meet the emergency needs of the state. But when any procurement deal will be final, it'll come to the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase for its final approval."
He said the approval was given in compliance with the Provision 76 of the Public Procurement Rule-2008.
Earlier on November 5 last, the government signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd to collect three crore doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca SARS-CoV-B2, AZD1222 vaccine.
On Monday, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said that the approval from the Economic Affairs Committee is required as per section 76 of the Public Procurement Rules since it will be bought from a single source.
On the next day, Health Secretary Abdul Mannan said the country would receive the vaccine hopefully by February next year or earlier.
"We hope we will get corona vaccines very soon. Hopefully by the month of February [2021] or earlier… Until then, however, wearing a mask is the only way to live and prevent transmission," Abdul Mannan said while addressing as chief guest in a World AIDS Day 2020 event in Dhaka.
The finance ministry on November 16 initially allocated some Tk 735.77 crore for the Health Service Division to procure the Covid-19 vaccine.
Apart from the vaccine from SII, Bangladesh will buy 68 million doses from the Gavi under a global arrangement called COVAX. The first shipment of vaccine doses from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is likely to be delivered between February and June next year, said officials of the health directorate.
ANTIGEN TESTING STARTS FROM SATURDAY
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is going to start antigen-based rapid testing for coronavirus at nine district hospitals and one medical college from Saturday.
"Initially, we are starting antigen-based rapid testing at nine district-level hospitals and at one medical college from Saturday. It will be expanded to other districts from the next week," said Habibur Rahman, the director of Management Information System (MIS) at DGHS.
The hospitals are in Panchagarh, Gaibandha, Joypurhat, Patuakhali, Meherpur, Munshiganj, Jashore, Sylhet, Madaripur and Brahmanbaria districts. Shaheed Shamsuddin Medical College Hospital in Sylhet is the other hospital.
38 DIED, 2,198 INFECTED
Meanwhile, 38 people died with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, according to a press release of the DGHS.
With this, the total number of deaths rose to 6,713 while the death rate stood at 1.43 percent.
Another 2,198 cases were recorded in the same 24 hours taking the total number of positive cases to 469,423, added the release.
Against a number of 15,972 tests conducted in those 24 hours throughout the country, the positivity rate was 13.76 percent, while the overall positivity rate stood at 16.74 percent.
In the previous day, the positivity rate was 14.79 percent.
At least a total of 2,562 Covid-19 patients have recovered in the same 24 hours.
With this, the total number of recoveries rose to 385,786 while the recovery rate stood at 82.18 percent.
Among the 38 dead yesterday, 25 were males.
One aged under ten years, one between 21 and 30 years, three between 31 and 40, four between 41 and 50, four between 51 and 60, and 25 above 60 years old, added the release.
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