Bangladesh will manufacture COVID-19 vaccine soon: Zahid Maleque

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said that Bangladesh is on the way to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine soon with its own effort.

He made the remarks while rejecting public review on the Medical Degrees (Repeal) Bill, 2021 sought by the opposition lawmakers in the Jatiya Sangsad on Wednesday.

Zahid Maleque said, “With the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we are expecting that Bangladesh will be able to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine as early as possible.” 

Bangladesh is not only importing the COVID-19 vaccine but the initiative has been taken to manufacture vaccines rapidly in the country, said the minister, pledging to ensure hundred percent vaccinations throughout the country.

Ruling out opposition lawmakers’ allegations over treatment problems due to oxygen shortage in different public hospitals during the corona pandemic, the health minister said normally 50-60 tonnes of oxygen are needed in the country in a normal situation, but demand rose to 275 tonnes during the pandemic situation.

“We have set up central oxygen supply system in the hospitals and huge quantities of oxygen also have been imported from neighboring India,” the minister told parliament.

Apart from this, an order has been placed to import some 50 oxygen generators, he said, adding so there was no such situation of oxygen crisis in the country during the pandemic.

ARR