India Sends Two Million COVID-19 Vaccines to Bangladesh

India-based Dhaka Tribune reported on January 19, 2021, two million doses of the Covishield vaccine, Serum Institute of India's version of the vaccine co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, will be despatched to Bangladesh. The country's foreign ministry confirmed the plan, saying a special flight from India to Bangladesh carrying the first vaccine consignment will land in Dhaka within days.

Under the Ministry, the Health Services Division has issued a letter to the drug regulator, the Directorate General of Drug Administration, to take appropriate steps to administer the vaccine. SII is reported to have produced and stockpiled 75 million doses of the CoviShield vaccine, reported local media.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 (AZD1222) vaccine, formerly known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is made from the ChAdOx1 virus, a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus). This vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization in India, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Morocco.

On December 30, 2020, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency provided authorization for an emergency supply of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca for the active immunization of individuals 18 years or older.