The United States has donated another 1.8 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh, raising the assistance to a total of 16.8 million shots.
The latest shipment will enable Bangladesh to continue expanding vaccinations to young people aged 12 and above and reach its goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of the eligible population by the end of 2021, the US Embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.
The donation of Pfizer vaccines is part of the broader commitment by the United States to lead the global COVID-19 response by providing one billion doses of Pfizer vaccine around the world—free of charge—through 2022.
The United States is also working closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen the government’s response to the pandemic, training over 6,800 healthcare professionals to help safely administer vaccines.
The country also donated 18 cold-chain freezer trucks and support for health facilities to properly store and transport COVID-19 vaccines across Bangladesh.
The US government's COVID-19 assistance to Bangladesh now exceeds $121 million, which helped treat individuals infected with COVID-19, strengthened testing capacity and monitoring, enhanced case management and infection prevention and control practices, and improved the supply chain and logistics management systems.
US support also protects frontline workers and increases the public’s knowledge about COVID-19, including ways to protect themselves.
The United States has donated $4 billion to support the worldwide COVAX effort, which includes support for ultra-cold chain storage, transportation, and safe handling of COVID-19 vaccines, making the United States the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access.