Bangladesh received two million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, and plans to start vaccinating its 168 million inhabitants as of next week.
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The government plans to vaccinate 500 to 600 doctors and nurses early next week, ahead of a nationwide vaccination campaign in early February, Maidul Islam Prodhan, spokesperson for the health ministry, told AFP.
Thursday's delivery of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), is part of a program of donations from the Indian government to its neighbors, implemented this week. At the same time, Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health, announced that Bangladesh was purchasing an additional 30 million doses of the same vaccine and planned to receive batches of five million doses each month.
