No need for blame game over delay in Sinopharm approval, says FM Momen

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has responded to the Chinese envoy’s complaints about the delay in approving the Sinopharm vaccine by stating that Bangladesh has followed its regulations in the interests of the people.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen speaks at an event to mark the handover of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine to Bangladesh at the state guesthouse Padma in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen speaks at an event to mark the handover of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine to Bangladesh at the state guesthouse Padma in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming speaks at an event to mark the handover of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine to Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming speaks at an event to mark the handover of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine to Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

“There is no need to assign blame in this situation as we have to follow regulations,” Momen said in the presence of Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming during an event at the state guesthouse Padma on Wednesday where the Chinese envoy officially handed over 500,000 doses of the vaccine to the government.

Momen said the government had some reservations about the Sinopharm vaccine as it had not been approved by the World Health Organization.

“In our country we have certain regulations and these are not new,” he said. “They are old and laid down for the wellbeing and welfare of our people.”

The delay in government approval was because a significant number of experts argued that Bangladesh should not use vaccines that were not approved by the WHO and were not being used by other countries that had good standards of health care, he said.

“The Chinese government argued that they have been using this vaccine on over 80 million plus, which by now, is nearing 100 million and there is no side effect,” the minister said.

The Sinopharm vaccine has also been used by the heads of state and government of over 63 countries and has been exported to around 60 countries, he added.

Momen said the Bangladesh government authorised the use of the vaccine for emergency use after taking these matters into consideration and after going through the proper process, which took some time.

“We cannot put our people and their health at stake. Now their vaccine has been approved by the WHO also, so we are very lucky.”

The minister thanked China for the gift of 500,000 vaccine doses and noted that they had the ‘capacity and competency’ to produce more.

The government would be pursuing the possibility of co-producing the vaccine with China and possibly bringing in raw materials for the production of the vaccine in Bangladesh, he said.