Bangladesh is likely to receive a million doses of Astra-Zeneca Covid vaccines from the European Union,  Foreign Minister AK Abdul Monin said, adding the supply would be routed through the WHO’s COVAX. 

“Our ambassador in Geneva informed us that European Union will give us 10 lakh AstraZeneca vaccine jabs. It is expected to arrive home at the end of this month,” Momin was quoted as saying by The Daily Star on Wednesday. 

The country is also likely to receive from Japan, he informed. However, the quantity is not yet clear. Bangladesh, he said, is expecting around 2.5 million doses. 

Bangladesh’s national immunization program had hit a roadblock when the supply of vaccines from India was halted in April. The country had signed a deal for 30 million vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India but received just 7 million. India had donated around 3 million doses to Bangladesh. 

Meanwhile, Dhaka is still negotiating deals with Chinese firms for the delivery of vaccines. Also, talks on the co-production of vaccines in Bangladesh are also happening. 

China gifted 11 lakh Sinopharm vaccine jabs, and the US supplied 1.06 lakh Pfizer and 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses to Bangladesh. Besides, China supplied 2 million of the contracted 15 million Sinopharm jabs. 

Momin assured the supply won’t be the issue anymore and the vaccination drive would continue.