The government has disbursed Tk 280.50 crore to purchase the first consignment of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines, an official at the Health Services Division has said.
The consignment of around 33 lakh doses of vaccines is expected to arrive next month to support the government’s ongoing drive to bring the pandemic to an end.
The Finance Division already issued a circular about the fund disbursement, said the official.
However, Health ministry spokesman Prof Robed Amin said he did not know of any agreement between the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the relevant Chinese agency on the purchase of vaccines.
The Finance Division allocated the fund in response to the proposal of the Health Services Division to procure the vaccines from the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Company Ltd.
“We’re following rules strictly related to the vaccine deal with China. It is prohibited to disclose any information about the deal,” said an official at the Finance Division.
Cabinet Division’s Additional Secretary Shahida Akhter was made OSD (Officer on Special Duty) for disclosing the price of China’s Covid-19 vaccine.
The senior official disclosed the price at a briefing following the cabinet meeting on May 27 when the government approved procurement of 1.5 crore doses of the vaccine with $10 (one dollar= Tk85) per dose.
After the meeting, she said a Chinese government-owned firm will supply 50 lakh doses in three months beginning from June.
Bangladesh plans to buy 1.5 crore vaccines from China National Pharmaceuticals Group or Sinopharm of China. Under the agreement, 50 lakh vaccines were supposed to arrive in Bangladesh in June in the first shipment.
In a speech to the nation on May 13, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, “We have made arrangements to buy one crore vaccines from different countries.
The Serum Institute of India sold the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh at $5 per dose.
