The first consignment of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India arrived in Dhaka on Thursday morning as a gift from New Delhi.

A special flight of India carrying the consignment landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 11:20am, Airport sources said.

The vaccines which came as a gift will be handed over at a formal ceremony at State Guesthouse Padma at 1:15pm today.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami and other high government officials will be present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, a highly-placed source said 50 lakh doses of vaccine will come from India in the first phase through private sector channels soon.

The Serum Institute of India has produced the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and drug maker AstraZeneca.

On January 8, Bangladesh approved the procurement of 30 million doses of Covishield vaccine from India.

BDST: 1205 HRS, JAN 21, 2021
SMS