The Policy Times Dhaka Bureau (8 May) :
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen requested for 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine right away and 10 to 20 million doses in the long run so that the government has enough vaccines it is trying to procure from different sources to fulfil its pledge to vaccinate 80% of the Bangladeshi population. Bangladesh has already administered 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. The Foreign Minister appreciated President Joe Biden´s administration´s decision to provide 60 million doses of AstraZencea vaccine to the worst affected countries. He explained the government´s timely initiative to vaccinate Bangladeshi citizens and the subsequent crisis of the vaccines especially due to the deteriorating Covid situation in India. He said Bangladesh would urgently need 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to administer the second shot to 1.6 million people by May 2021 who have already received the first jab.
The second wave of the pandemic could be devastating for Bangladesh and for entire South Asia if we fail to mass-vaccinate our people, the Foreign Minister said in his letter.
