Bangladesh will receive 781,320 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Saturday (31 July 2021) as the second consignment of pledged more than three million doses of such jabs from Japan under the COVAX framework. Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed saw off the second consignment of Japan-manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine at the Narita airport near Tokyo today, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.
The freight of ANA carrying the vaccine departed from the Narita Airport Terminal-1 at 10:40 pm (Japan local time) tonight and is scheduled to arrive here at around 3 pm on Saturday. On July 24, Bangladesh received 245,200 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine as the first consignment from Japan under the COVAX facilities.
COVAX, a global alliance, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. These consignments of vaccines are important for Bangladesh as around 1.5 million people are waiting for the second dose of this Oxford-made vaccine.
Bangladesh has so far received 1.2 crore doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII). Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said the government has already made a good lineup of getting more COVID-19 vaccines from different sources under COVAX along with commercial purchases to ensure a steady supply of jabs for the countrymen.