Bangladesh will not use vaccines without WHO approval

Many companies around the world have developed vaccines against COVID-19, but the Bangladesh government will not accept any of them unless approved by the World Health Organization.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 7 Oct 2020, 01:07 PM
Updated : 7 Oct 2020, 02:36 PM

Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam announced the decision after a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The government has set aside Tk 6 billion to buy the vaccines, considering that these would not be free initially when the world is struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has planned to provide the poor, if not the entire population, with free vaccines, the secretary said.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1 million people in the biggest pandemic in a century. The official death toll has surpassed 5,000 in Bangladesh.

With no treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the world is looking forward to a vaccine to end the outbreak.

Russia and China have begun administering vaccines to their people. Several vaccine candidates are at the final stage of trial in different countries, but none has received the WHO’s approval yet.

The Health Services Division briefed the cabinet about the latest status of the efforts to collect the vaccines in Wednesday’s meeting.

Clinical trials of as many as 46 vaccine candidates are under way while 91 others are at pre-clinical trial stage, Anwarul said.

The health ministry has maintained communications with the developers of the vaccines since the beginning, he said.

“We’ve set a baseline that we won’t accept a vaccine which is not recognised by WHO,” the secretary said.

“Our health ministry, departments and pharmaceutical companies are communicating with different countries for production here following this baseline,” he added.

THE RUSH FOR VACCINE

GAVI, the global public-private vaccine alliance, has accepted Bangladesh’s application to get COVID-19 vaccines through the alliance after Hasina sent a video message to the Global Vaccine Summit 2020 in London on Jun 4, Anwarul said.

The government has approved the icddr,b’s application to hold clinical trials of an experimental vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac.

The trials in Bangladesh will create an opportunity to get the vaccine at a lower price and on a priority basis, the secretary said. 

One or more local pharmaceutical companies will introduce the vaccine once it succeeds in trial, he added.

About Russia’s vaccine candidate, he said the country has offered Bangladesh the transfer of the technology to produce the vaccine, but the government is waiting for the WHO’s approval.

The Health Services Division is involved in a process to hold trials of the experimental vaccine developed by India’s Bharat Biotech, which has offered training of 36 people and the orientation has already begun, the secretary said.

Two pharmaceutical companies of Bangladesh have expressed interest in production of a vaccine candidate developed by France’s Sanofi and Belgium’s GSK, he added.

ALLOCATION FOR VACCINES

The government has allocated Tk 6 billion in the national budget to buy COVID-19 vaccines under a project, the cabinet secretary said.

Finance Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder assured the cabinet of funds if enough foreign currency is not available for the vaccines.

Anwarul noted that Hasina had spoken about the allocation during the passage of the budget in parliament.

He brushed aside the claim that the government has wasted opportunities to get free vaccines.

“We must understand that there is no immediate chance of getting vaccines for free when a global competition is under way. Free vaccines may arrive through GAVI, but it will take time,” he said.    

WHEN WILL VACCINES ARRIVE?

The cabinet secretary pointed out that no one can say with certainty when an effective vaccine will hit the markets.

Referring to a list made by the government, he said it would take at least until April-June in 2021 for a vaccine to be available.

“But we have maintained communications with all [to ensure access] if a vaccine comes out to be successful before that period,” he added.

The government also needs to look at some technical issues, one of them being that some vaccines must be preserved and transported in minus 80 degrees Celsius.

“It is very difficult for a country like ours. The ones that can be preserved in 2 to 8 degrees Celsius are suitable for us,” Anwarul said.

NOT FREE FOR ALL

The government will not provide the vaccine for free to all the people.

But it will give the vaccines to a large portion of the population who will not be able to afford the shots, the secretary said.

“The price has not been fixed yet. Let’s see what happens,” he said.

Uncertainty has shrouded the trials of the candidate developed by China’s Sinovac after the government refused it funds, according to media reports.

“There is nothing uncertain. They have sought some funds. We are discussing it,” Anwarul said.

“We are checking whether their proposal is rational and whether the funding should be made by the government or the private sector,” he added.