China has handed over five lakh doses of its Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh as gift.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming formally handed over the vaccines to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque at State Guest House Padma in Dhaka on Wednesday noon.
Earlier, an aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:30am carrying the vaccines from China.
The Sinopharm vaccine is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
“In view that COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc on people’s lives and disturbing social and economic activities in Bangladesh, the 500,000 doses of vaccine arrive just in time,” Chinese ambassador said earlier.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally.
