US hands over additional 2.5 m Pfizer vaccines to Bangladesh

The US Ambassador Earl R Miller on Tuesday handed over 2.5 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh, a gift from the American people.

Ambassador Miller and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Kathryn Stevens handed over the jabs to Health ministry's additional secretary Syed Mojibul Huq and Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam at the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) headquarters here, said a press release.

"The United States is pleased to donate these additional 2.5 million doses of life-saving Pfizer vaccines to Bangladesh and continue our support to the national vaccination campaign," said Miller.

He said the US is proud to support the global COVAX vaccine initiative to make sure the proper infrastructure is in place to store and administer these vaccines safely and effectively.

The US and Bangladesh officials also toured the EPI COVID-19 vaccine storage facility where Pfizer doses are being stored in 26 ultra-cold freezers supplied through the global COVAX vaccine alliance partnership, he added.

In addition to vaccine donations, the United States continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen the government's response to the pandemic.

Source: BSS