BANGLADESH

US ships 2.5 million Covid vaccine doses to Bangladesh

Vials of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Swati Rana

THE United States on Tuesday (29) began shipping 2.5 million doses of Moderna’s Covid vaccine to Bangladesh, as it confronted a wave of new infections.

“Thanks to the US commitment to playing a leading role in ending the pandemic everywhere, 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine will begin to ship to Bangladesh,” said the White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Illustrating the urgency, delivery is expected to be completed this week.

Bangladesh began a severe lockdown on Monday (28) in response to spiralling infections from the delta variant. People are restricted to their homes, with offices closed, traffic shut down and the security forces enforcing compliance.

The nation “has a 55 per cent week-over-week increase in cases, driven largely by the Delta variant,” a White House official said, explaining how the country made it onto the urgent list.

The White House said its vaccine shipments – mostly made through the World Health Organization’s Covax programme – come free in all senses.

“We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. Our vaccines do not come with strings attached. We are doing this with the singular objective of saving lives,” the official said.

“Putting an end to this pandemic requires eliminating it around the world,” the White House official said. “This is a unique moment in history and it requires American leadership.”

Additionally, some 80 million doses from the US supply are earmarked for foreign allocation by the end of June.

Two million doses of the Pfizer vaccine are now being shipped to Peru, and 2.5 million Moderna doses are going to Pakistan, the White House said Monday. Another 2.5 million doses are headed to Colombia.