US donates additional 10m Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh

A vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccineAFP

The US government has donated another 10 million (1 crore) doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh via COVAX to help the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continue expanding vaccinations to teens and adults across the country.

This delivery brings the total number of all US vaccines to over 85 million (8.5 crore) doses, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.

More than two-thirds of all international Covid-19 vaccine donations to Bangladesh have come from the United States.

The United States said it continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support every facet of the national Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

This effort includes training over 51,000 healthcare providers and other workers on safely administering vaccines to support Bangladesh’s Covid-19 vaccination roll out across 64 districts.

The United States has also donated 18 freezer vans, 750 freezer units, and 8,000 vaccine carriers and helped transport 57 million doses of vaccines to remote areas – for direct administration of 47 million vaccinations.

In Bangladesh, the United States has contributed more than $140 million in Covid-19 related development and humanitarian assistance. Globally, the United States has donated $4 billion to support the COVAX effort, which includes support for ultra-cold chain storage, transportation, and safe handling of Covid-19 vaccines, making the United States the world’s largest donor for equitable global Covid-19 vaccine access.