‘Tk 14,000cr allocated for vaccines, mass inoculation expected to resume in July’

The mass vaccination of Covid-19 is expected to resume in July as the government is making an all-out effort to collect vaccines, Principal Secretary to the prime minister Dr Ahmad Kaikaus said today.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to restart the vaccination on a mass scale in July," he said, replying to a question at a press conference arranged at the Prime Minister's Office over the Ashrayan-2 project.

The principal secretary said the government has already spoken with several countries over the Covid-19 jabs. Bangladesh is also trying to produce vaccines locally. "We expect we'll get the vaccines soon," he added.

Noting that a fund of Tk 14,000 crore has been allocated for the procurement of vaccines, he said the prime minister always says Bangladesh does not need free vaccines as the country will buy vaccines from wherever they are available.  "We've made good progress," he added.

Dr Kaikaus said the government has been working rigorously for procuring vaccines from the very beginning.  Bangladeshi diplomats have been communicating with the USA, UK, countries in Europe, China and other nations for collecting Covid-19 vaccines, he said.

PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Ashrayan-2 Project Director Md Mahbub Hossain were present at the time, among others.