CORONAVIRUS
US donates another 1.8m vaccines
Its Covid help to BD totals $121m
FE REPORT | Thursday, 25 November 2021
The United States donates another 1.8 million doses of Pfizer vaccine for Bangladesh to combat the corona menace, taking its anti-pandemic assistance over US$121 million.
With the latest shipment, "the American people have now donated a total of 16.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh," said a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The consignment of new jabs is expected to help the Government of Bangladesh continue expanding COVID-19 vaccinations for young people aged 12 and above and reach its goal of vaccinating 40 percent of the eligible population by the end of 2021.
The donation of Pfizer vaccines is part of the broader commitment by the United States to lead the global COVID-19 response by providing one billion doses of Pfizer vaccine around the world-free of charge-through 2022.
The US is also working closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen government's response to the pandemic, the spokesperson said.
It has provided training to over 6,800 healthcare professionals to enable them to safely administer vaccines and donated 18 cold-chain freezer trucks and support for health facilities to properly store and transport vaccines across the country.
According to the US Dhaka mission, in addition to vaccine donations and support, the US Government has contributed over $121 million in COVID-related assistance.
"This assistance has saved lives and treated individuals infected with COVID-19, strengthened testing capacity and monitoring, enhanced case management and infection prevention and control practices, and improved the supply chain and logistics management systems. U.S. support also protects frontline workers and increases the public's knowledge about COVID-19, including ways to protect themselves," it was stated.
The United States has donated $4 billion to support the worldwide COVAX effort, which includes support for ultra-cold-chain storage, transportation, and safe handling of COVID-19 vaccines, making the US world's largest donor for "equitable" global vaccine access.