Govt approves buying Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines

The government has approved the procurement proposal of Chinese vaccines under the direct purchase system.

The approval came in a cabinet committee on economic affairs meeting on Wednesday.

“The cabinet approved the proposal of purchasing synopharma vaccine from China to protect public health from virus infection,” said Dr Sahida Akter, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, after the meeting.

The procurement will be made under the direct purchase system, she said.

“It is not clear yet how many doses will be procured from China,” he said.

On May 11, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said “We will collect 4 to 5 crore vaccines from China. We sent a letter of interest to Chinese authorities about the procurement of vaccine”.