Shawdesh Desk:

The United States (US) has donated another 1.8 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh.

The American people have now donated a total of 16.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh with the latest shipment, an US embassy in Dhaka said on Wednesday.

The new doses help Bangladesh government continue administering COVID-19 jabs to young people aged 12 and up and reach its goal of vaccinating 40 percent of the eligible population by the end of 2021, it added.

The donation of Pfizer vaccines is part of the broader commitment by the US to lead the global COVID-19 response by providing one billion doses of Pfizer vaccine around the world free of charge through 2022.

The US is also working closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen the government’s response to the pandemic.

The US has provided training to over 6,800 healthcare professionals to help them safely administer vaccines and donated 18 cold-chain freezer trucks and support for health facilities to properly store and transport COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

In addition to vaccine donations and support, the US Government has contributed over $121 million in COVID-19-related assistance.

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 US the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access, said the embassy.