Shawdesh desk:

Bangladesh will receive ten lakh more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, gifted by the US, on August 30 under the Covax facility, according to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The consignment is scheduled to reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:15pm, according to public relations officer of Directorate General of Health Services.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller will be present at the airport to receive the vaccine consignment, the PRO added.

Earlier on Monday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said that some six million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Dhaka in September under Covax facilities.

On May 31, Bangladesh received a consignment of 100,620 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the first under the international vaccine-sharing platform Covax.

The vaccine’s preservation temperature ranges between -90°C and -60°C. However, it can remain stable for five days at 2°C to 8°C and for two hours at 30°C, according to health authorities.

Bangladesh has so far approved seven vaccines for emergency use: Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna.