March 19, 2024, 8:34 am


Special Correspondent

Published:
2021-01-22 15:37:39 BdST

Govt approves import of 30m vaccine doses from India


The government has approved the Health and Family Welfare Ministry proposal to procure 30 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from Serum Institute of India (SII) Pvt Ltd.

Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase, chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, approved the proposal Thursday. Earlier, the proposal was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

Under a recent agreement with India, the government will have to spend 1,271.55 crore taka to buy the vaccine. Funds have been allocated by the Finance Ministry as per the demand of the Health Ministry.

The price of each dose of the vaccine, including the cost of transportation, was fixed at $5. The total cost, therefore, is $150 million — about 1,271.55 crore taka.

According to the proposal, the first instalment of $60 million (509.70 crore taka) had been paid on January 5 to SII as per the terms of the agreement.

SII has sent a letter asking Bangladesh to pay another $60 million in advance for the second instalment. The total contract value is $120 million, an additional $30 million is the cost of transportation.

A tripartite agreement between the Health Services Division, SII and Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd was signed on December 5 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the approval to ensure the availability of vaccines.

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