The government will take stern action against anyone from the Directorate General of Health Services involved in the sale of the coronavirus vaccine, Director General Prof ABM Khurshid Alam has warned.
The health directorate is currently conducting a probe after a paramedic was recently caught selling the vaccine in Dhaka, Khurshid Alam said on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
"This is the subject of a legal process. Police have opened an investigation against the man, while the DGHS is also running a probe over the incident. We'll take action in accordance with the probe report."
Bijoy Krishna Talukdar was arrested with two vials of Moderna vaccine from a pharmacy in Dhaka's Dakkhinkhan on Aug 18. Two boxes of the vaccine were recovered from him. Bijoy, a resident of Dakkhinkhan's Hajipara, runs a clinic and a pharmacy in the area.
He was apprehended on charges of selling the coronavirus vaccine and was later sent to jail by a court.
Bangladesh has been administering vaccines to its citizens free of cost as part of the efforts to contain a rampaging coronavirus pandemic. The South Asian nation has received several shipments of the Moderna vaccine under the global vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX.
It is still unclear how Bijoy got hold of the vaccine but investigation officers suspect the involvement of DGHS personnel in the incident.