Why is there no progress with the vaccine plant?

It is unfortunate that the government has not been able to make any progress in building a vaccine plant and research institute in Bangladesh to start producing its own Covid-19 vaccines. While the government announced that it would set up the plant in July last year, according to a report by this daily, the six-acre land in Gopalganj designated for the project has not been acquired yet. And while the development project proposal (DPP) is yet to be finalised, no headway has been made to get a foreign biotechnology firm to sign for the technology transfer and production of vaccines.

While the government's Covid vaccination programme has been a success—as of April 6, 2022, it has administered one dose of the vaccine to 75.25 percent and two doses to 67.37 percent of the population—it should not create any room for complacency, leading to delays in implementing this project. Immediately after the decision was made to build the plant, a technical committee on vaccine production was formed, which gave some initial recommendations. But the committee has reportedly not held any meetings since then, and the members hardly have any idea about the latest development in the project. What's the point of even having such committees if they sit idle for eight long months? And we can't agree with the coordinator of the project, who said that the authorities were working to build a state-of-the-art vaccine production and research facility, which is a massive task and so the delay is normal. Given the importance of the project, we believe it should be expedited.

Just because the intensity of the pandemic is waning does not mean that we should lose our focus on building the plant. Since the world has already suffered three waves of the pandemic and is bracing for a fourth one, we should be prepared in every possible way. Since vaccination is one of the most effective ways to fight the virus, producing our own vaccines will safeguard us in the future without being dependent on the outside world.

Additionally, the vaccination plant will not only produce Covid vaccines, but can also be used for making other vaccines that we regularly import. Therefore, we urge the government to not waste any more time and start implementing the plan to set up this plant without further delay.