US donates 9.6m Pfizer jabs, millions more on way

The United States (US) on Saturday donated another 9.6 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh while the US Ambassador here Earl R Miller has said millions more jab doses are on the way.

"The United States has now donated the vaccines, free of charge, over 28 million vaccine doses to Bangladesh with millions more on the way," a US embassy press release said here quoting the US envoy. 

The Embassy said the fresh donation will enable Bangladesh to expand its immunization campaign for booster shots to frontline workers and senior citizens across the country. 

"We salute and stand with heroic Bangladeshi health care providers and assistance partners as we work together to provide a healthier, brighter future for the people of both our great nations," Miller said. 

This delivery of Pfizer vaccines is part of the United States' commitment to lead the global COVID-19 response by donating a billion doses of Pfizer vaccine around the world through 2022, said the release.

Apart from donating vaccine, the US continues to work closely with Bangladesh to support the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign and strengthen the government's response to the pandemic. 

To date, the United States has contributed over $121 million coronavirus vaccine shots to Bangladesh in COVID-related development and humanitarian assistance through USAID, the U.S. Department of Defense, the US Department of State, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

So far, the US has donated $4 billion COVID-19 vaccines to support the worldwide COVAX effort that made the global super power as the world's largest donor for equitable COVID-19 vaccine access.

Source: BSS