The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has begun investigating possible side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine among recipients in the country.
While speaking at an event in Dhaka on Wednesday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said he has instructed the health directorate to conduct a survey of those who received AstraZeneca jabs.
"The vaccines will not be administered if any clear evidence of side effects is found," the minister assured.
While acknowledging reports of side effects elsewhere, Dr Sen said no such reports have been received in Bangladesh.
This investigation comes after the global withdrawal of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The withdrawal follows months of legal proceedings where the pharmaceutical giant admitted for the first time that the vaccine can cause a rare and serious side effect.
"We have not received any reports of side effects here," Dr Sen said. "I have instructed the Director General of Health Services. They are conducting a survey."
The minister said, "Those who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca will be surveyed and a report will be provided to me. Until we have evidence, I cannot comment further."
During the Covid-19 pandemic, AstraZeneca partnered with the Serum Institute of India to produce the Covishield vaccine. Covishield has been distributed to many countries, including Bangladesh.
AstraZeneca cites "commercial" reasons for the vaccine's withdrawal. However, the company is facing legal action related to the vaccine, with allegations of multiple deaths and serious illnesses following Covishield doses.
In a recent court admission, the British pharmaceutical company acknowledged that the vaccine may cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) in rare cases. TTS is a rare side effect associated with blood clotting.
The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was marketed globally under the brand names Covishield and Vaxzevria.
The health minister also spoke about the country's dengue situation.
He stressed on ensuring sufficient medical equipment and maintaining affordable treatment costs for dengue. However, he said that mosquito control remains the most important aspect of dengue prevention.
Reuters adds: AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic.
The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria's marketing authorizations within Europe.
"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.
According to media reports, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.
The firm's application to withdraw the vaccine was made on Mar 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.
London-listed AstraZeneca began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as COVID-19 medicine sales declined.
nsrafsanju@gmail.com