The daily star: Bangladesh not getting vaccine from India despite paying

in advance
Published : Friday, 23 April, 2021 at 4:37 AM  Count : 26
Despite making full payment of the prices, Bangladesh has not been receiving coronavirus vaccine from Serum Institute of India (SII).

The Bangladesh government signed an agreement with the SII on November 5 last year to procure 3 crore (30 million) doses of Oxford-Astrazeneca's
COVID-19 vaccine under the mediation of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The agreement states that the SII will export 3 crore (30 million) doses of
Covishield vaccine to Bangladesh.

According to a clause of the agreement, Bangladesh is supposed to receive 50 lakh (5 million) doses of vaccine each month. But, the country has not been
receiving the vaccine from SII as mentioned in the agreement though the Indian company realised Tk 510 crore from the Bangladesh government in
advance as the price of 1.5 crore (15 million) doses of Covishield vaccine.

No consignment of vaccine was exported by the SII in the last two months to Bangladesh. None can say clearly when the consignment of vaccine will
arrive from the company. Following the agreement, Bangladesh has so far received 70 lakh (7million) doses of vaccine in two consignments in the
months of January and February respectively.

Besides, the Indian government provided 33 lakh (3.3 million) doses of vaccine as gift to Bangladesh. So, Bangladesh has so far received 1.03 crore (10.03
million) doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India as purchase and gift.

But, Bangladesh now requires some 10 lakh doses of vaccine to complete its second doses for those who have received the first dose of
vaccine so far in the country. Those who have received the first dose of vaccine, they now face great uncertainty over the receiving the
second doses of vaccine.

The first dose of COVID-19 vaccination was formally kicked off on February 7 last and the second dose of vaccination began on April 8.
The Bangladesh government signed the agreement to procure 3 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine from SII of India through a local
pharmaceutical company.

The Health Ministry sources said the local pharmaceutical company contacted with SII seeking rest of the vaccine. In reply, the SII said,
"We're ready to export vaccine to Bangladesh. But, it now depends on the Indian government. Our vaccines are ready. We can dispatch
the vaccine if we receive clearance from the ministry concerned."

The Bangladesh government is now exploring different sources to receive vaccine. An agreement with Russia is now at a final stage. The
Sputnik-V vaccine produced by Russia has been proved very effective against coronavirus. A local consortium is working to import this
vaccine to Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said Russia would not give its technology to any other country. It would provide its
technology to a pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh only. China has formed a six-country vaccine alliance which includes
Bangladesh. China has also proposed to provide 6 lakh doses of vaccine as gift. Besides, Beijing has expressed its willingness to supply
vaccine to Bangladesh. An American company has also agreed to export vaccine to Bangladesh.

Beximco Pharmaceutical Limited's managing director Nazmul Hasan Papon said India's SII is ready to export 50 lakh doses of vaccine to
Bangladesh. The company has also sought clearance from the Indian ministry concerned to export the vaccine, but they are yet to
receive the clearance. The SII would be able to export the vaccine to Bangladesh once it receives clearance from the ministry concerned.
There might be a problem of receiving vaccine in April and May, though the problem would likely to get resolve in June.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said SII is supposed to export 3 crore doses of vaccine to Bangladesh. But, they have become unable to
export vaccine. In such a situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself is trying her best to obtain vaccine. Besides, the health ministry
has been making effort to import vaccine.

Hasina pushes climate plan with $100b in annual fund

Developed countries should draw an immediate action plan to reduce their carbon emissions and keep the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius,
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.
The developing nations should also focus on mitigation measures, Hasina said in her address to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, hosted by US
President Joe Biden on Thursday.
An annual target of $100 billion should be ensured and balanced 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation measures with special attention to the
vulnerable communities while pursuing loss and damage, Hasina suggested.
"Major economies, international financial institutions and private sectors should come forward for concessional climate financing as well as innovation
and focus is needed on green economy and carbon-neutral technologies with the provision of technology transfer among nations."
Hasina thanked Biden for convening the summit and appreciated the United States' return to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Despite being a climate vulnerable country with resource constraints, Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader in adaptation and mitigation, Hasina
said, highlighting that Bangladesh spends about $5 billion every year on climate adaptation and resilience-building measures.

The Rohingya refugee crisis, with 1.1 million members of the ethnic minority who have taken shelter in Bangladesh after being displaced forcefully from
Myanmar, has however "worsened our vulnerability", she said.
Now Bangladesh is pursuing a low carbon development path, the prime minister said.
To raise the country's Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, and adaptation ambition, the government has included new sectors in addition to the
existing energy, industry and transport sectors in the mitigation process.
It is planning to submit a "quantified ambitious" NDC by June 2021, according to Hasina.
She noted that the government is planting 30 million saplings nationwide and adopted "Mujib
Climate Prosperity Plan" to achieve low carbon economic growth, as Bangladesh observes "Mujib Year", marking the birth centenary of the Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
She also said that Bangladesh's key focus is to uphold the interests of the climate vulnerable countries and it is hosting the South Asian regional office of
the Global Centre on Adaptation which is promoting locally-led adaptation solutions.
The Biden administration on Thursday pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, a new target it hopes will
spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change, Reuters reports.
The goal, unveiled at the start of a two-day climate summit hosted by Biden, comes as the United States seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight
against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions.
It also marks an important milestone in Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy entirely by 2050 - an agenda he says can create millions of
good-paying jobs but which many Republicans say they fear will damage the economy.
The emissions cuts are expected to come from power plants, automobiles, and other sectors across the economy, but the White House did not set
individual targets for those industries.
"No nation can solve this crisis on its own, and this summit is a step on a path to a secure, prosperous, and sustainable future," Biden said in a tweet
minutes before the summit began.
The new US target nearly doubles former President Barack Obama's pledge of emissions cut 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Sector-specific goals will
be laid out later this year.
How the United States intends to reach its climate goals will be crucial to cementing US credibility on global warming, amid international concerns that
America's commitment to a clean energy economy can shift drastically from one administration to the next.
Biden's recently introduced $2 trillion infrastructure plan contains numerous measures that could deliver some of the emissions cuts needed this decade,
including a clean energy standard to achieve net-zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and moves to electrify the vehicle fleet. But the measures
need to be passed by Congress before becoming reality.
Biden focused on restoring US climate leadership during his campaign and in the first days of his presidency after Republican Trump, a climate change
sceptic, removed the United States from the Paris agreement on global warming. The new administration has come under heavy pressure from
environmental groups, some corporate leaders, the UN secretary general and foreign governments to set a target to cut emissions by at least 50% this
decade to encourage other countries to set their own ambitious emissions goals.
Besides Hasina, the leaders of China, India and nearly 40 other countries are expected to join Biden virtually, and the United States hopes that the
announcement of its new emissions goal will galvanise other nations to step up their own targets by the time nations gather again under United Nations
auspices in November in Glasgow, Scotland.
Reuters reported that Japan on Thursday raised its target for cutting carbon emissions to 46 percent by 2030, responding to pressure from the United
States and domestic companies, along with environmentalists who criticised its previous goal of 26 percent as unambitious.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the new target, compared with 2013 emissions levels, hours before the start of the virtual summit on climate
change called by Biden.
Other countries have also announced stronger action in the lead-up to the summit, with Britain pledging a 78 percent reduction by 2035.
UN climate scientists say the world's net CO2 emissions must fall to zero by 2050, to limit the rise in global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees
Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. Exceeding that amount of warming would unleash the most severe impacts of climate change.    -
bdnews24.comAn annual target of $100 billion should be ensured and balanced 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation measures with special
attention to the vulnerable communities while pursuing loss and damage, Hasina suggested.
"Major economies, international financial institutions and private sectors should come forward for concessional climate financing as well as innovation
and focus is needed on green economy and carbon-neutral technologies with the provision of technology transfer among nations."
Hasina thanked Biden for convening the summit and appreciated the United States' return to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Despite being a climate vulnerable country with resource constraints, Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader in adaptation and mitigation, Hasina
said, highlighting that Bangladesh spends about $5 billion every year on climate adaptation and resilience-building measures.
The Rohingya refugee crisis, with 1.1 million members of the ethnic minority who have taken shelter in Bangladesh after being
displaced forcefully from Myanmar, has however "worsened our vulnerability", she said.
Now Bangladesh is pursuing a low carbon development path, the prime minister said.
To raise the country's Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, and adaptation ambition, the government has included new sectors
in addition to the existing energy, industry and transport sectors in the mitigation process.
It is planning to submit a "quantified ambitious" NDC by June 2021, according to Hasina.
She noted that the government is planting 30 million saplings nationwide and adopted "Mujib
Climate Prosperity Plan" to achieve low carbon economic growth, as Bangladesh observes "Mujib Year", marking the birth centenary of
the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
She also said that Bangladesh's key focus is to uphold the interests of the climate vulnerable countries and it is hosting the South Asian
regional office of the Global Centre on Adaptation which is promoting locally-led adaptation solutions.
The Biden administration on Thursday pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, a new
target it hopes will spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change, Reuters reports.
The goal, unveiled at the start of a two-day climate summit hosted by Biden, comes as the United States seeks to reclaim global
leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to
cut emissions.
It also marks an important milestone in Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy entirely by 2050 - an agenda he says can
create millions of good-paying jobs but which many Republicans say they fear will damage the economy.
The emissions cuts are expected to come from power plants, automobiles, and other sectors across the economy, but the White House
did not set individual targets for those industries.
"No nation can solve this crisis on its own, and this summit is a step on a path to a secure, prosperous, and sustainable future," Biden
said in a tweet minutes before the summit began.
The new US target nearly doubles former President Barack Obama's pledge of emissions cut 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Sector-
specific goals will be laid out later this year.
How the United States intends to reach its climate goals will be crucial to cementing US credibility on global warming, amid
international concerns that America's commitment to a clean energy economy can shift drastically from one administration to the next.
Biden's recently introduced $2 trillion infrastructure plan contains numerous measures that could deliver some of the emissions cuts
needed this decade, including a clean energy standard to achieve net-zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and moves to electrify
the vehicle fleet. But the measures need to be passed by Congress before becoming reality.
Biden focused on restoring US climate leadership during his campaign and in the first days of his presidency after Republican Trump, a
climate change sceptic, removed the United States from the Paris agreement on global warming. The new administration has come
under heavy pressure from environmental groups, some corporate leaders, the UN secretary general and foreign governments to set a
target to cut emissions by at least 50% this decade to encourage other countries to set their own ambitious emissions goals.
Besides Hasina, the leaders of China, India and nearly 40 other countries are expected to join Biden virtually, and the United States
hopes that the announcement of its new emissions goal will galvanise other nations to step up their own targets by the time nations
gather again under United Nations auspices in November in Glasgow, Scotland.
Reuters reported that Japan on Thursday raised its target for cutting carbon emissions to 46 percent by 2030, responding to pressure
from the United States and domestic companies, along with environmentalists who criticised its previous goal of 26 percent as
unambitious.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the new target, compared with 2013 emissions levels, hours before the start of the virtual
summit on climate change called by Biden.
Other countries have also announced stronger action in the lead-up to the summit, with Britain pledging a 78 percent reduction by
2035.
UN climate scientists say the world's net CO2 emissions must fall to zero by 2050, to limit the rise in global temperatures to no more
than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. Exceeding that amount of warming would unleash the most severe

impacts of climate change.    -bdnews24.com India to airlift 23 oxygen generation plants from
Germany
Published : Saturday, 24 April, 2021 at 12:00 AM  CountThe government of India has decided to airlift 23 mobile oxygen generating plants from
Germany, in the face of acute shortage of medical oxygen in several states due to a massive surge in coronavirus cases.
Each plant will have a capacity to produce 40 litres of oxygen per minute and 2,400 litres every hour.
Those will be deployed in the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, NDTV reports quoting A
Bharat Bhushan Babu, the principal spokesperson of the Defence Ministry.
The decision by the ministry came four days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced granting emergency financial powers to
the three services and other defence agencies to make necessary procurement to enhance medical infrastructure in view of the
pandemic.
"Twenty-three mobile oxygen generation plants are being airlifted from Germany. These will be deployed in AFMS hospitals catering to
the COVID patients," Mr Babu said.

C-19 continues to disrupt essential health services in 90pc of countries:

WHO
Published : Sunday, 25 April, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 223
The second round of a World Health Organization "pulse survey" reveals that over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial disruptions persist,
with about 90% of countries still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services, marking no substantial global change since the first
survey conducted in the summer of 2020.
Within countries, however, the magnitude and extent of disruptions has generally decreased. In 2020, countries reported that, on average, about half of
essential health services were disrupted.
In the first 3 months of 2021, however, they reported progress, with just over one third of services now being disrupted, said the WHO
on Friday.
This survey looks at 63 core health services across delivery platforms and health areas. It was sent to 216 countries and territories
across the six WHO regions.
135 responses were received (63% response rate) from senior ministry of health officials predominantly between January and March
2021.
The responses referred to the situation in the country during the 3 months prior to survey submission (in this case predominantly
covering periods between October 2020-February 2021).
Overcoming disruptions
Countries have been working to mitigate disruptions. Many have now stepped up communications efforts to inform the public about
changes to service delivery and provide advice about ways to safely seek health care. They are also triaging (the practice of allocating
scarce medical resources among patients) to identify and better meet the most urgent patient needs.
More than half the countries consulted say they have recruited additional staff to boost the health workforce; redirected patients to
other care facilities; and switched to alternative methods to delivering care, such as providing more home-based services, multi-month
prescriptions for treatments, and increasing the use of telemedicine.
In addition, WHO and its partners have been helping countries to adapt their processes so they can better respond to the challenges
being placed on their health systems; strengthen primary health care, and advance universal health coverage.
"It is encouraging to see that countries are beginning to build back their essential health services, but much remains to be done," says Dr
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO.
"The survey highlights the need to intensify efforts and take additional steps to close gaps and strengthen services. It will be especially
important to monitor the situation in countries that were struggling to provide health services before the pandemic."
Persisting causes of disruptions
Countries are still having to make important decisions when responding to COVID-19 that may negatively affect access to care for other
health issues. Redeployment of staff to provide COVID-19 relief and temporary closures of health facilities and services continue.
Although they may have taken on new staff, 66% of countries continue to report health workforce-related reasons as the most common
causes of service disruptions. Supply chains are also still disrupted in nearly one third of countries, affecting the availability of essential
medicines, diagnostics, and the PPE needed to safely and effectively provide care.
Communications efforts need to be further scaled up: more than half of countries report service disruptions due to patients not seeking
care and because of community mistrust and fears of becoming infected.
Meanwhile, 43% of countries cite financial challenges as major causes for disruptions in service utilization.
As a result, millions of people are still missing out on vital health care. In terms of services, the biggest impact reported by nearly half of
countries is on provision of day-to-day primary care to prevent and manage some of the most common health problems.
Long-term care for chronic conditions, rehabilitation, and palliative end-of-life care, is also still badly disrupted - severely affecting
older people and people living with disabilities.
Potentially life-saving emergency, critical and surgical care interventions are still disrupted in about 20% of countries, reflecting the
most immediate indirect consequences of the pandemic.
Two thirds of countries also report disruptions in elective surgeries, with accumulating consequences as the pandemic is prolonged.
Among the most extensively affected health services (i.e. those for which more than 40% of countries are reporting disruptions) are
those for mental, neurological and substance use disorders; neglected tropical diseases; tuberculosis; HIV and hepatitis B and C; cancer
screening, and services for other non communicable diseases including hypertension and diabetes; family planning and contraception;
urgent dental care; and malnutrition.
Issued ahead of World Immunization Week (which starts 24 April) and World Malaria Day (25 April) the survey reveals that serious
gaps also remain in addressing disruptions to services in both these areas.
More than one third of countries are still reporting disruptions to immunization services, despite progress in countries reducing
disruptions to immunization services in health facilities and "outreach" immunization services by about 20% and 30% respectively
compared to 2020.
This highlights the need for new and sustained approaches to improving immunization coverage and uptake.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose serious challenges to global health beyond the impact of the disease itself," said Henrietta
Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
"For children, disruptions to immunization services have serious consequences. As we scale up delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, we have
to ensure that this does not come at the cost of essential childhood vaccinations. We cannot allow today's fight against COVID-19 to
undermine our fight against measles, polio or other vaccine preventable illnesses. Prolonged immunization disruptions will have long-
term consequences for children's health. The time to catch up is now."
Meanwhile, nearly 40% of countries are also reporting disruptions to one or more malaria services. While progress compared to 2020 -
with about 10% fewer countries reporting disruptions to malaria diagnosis and treatment and 25-33% fewer countries reporting
disruptions to malaria prevention campaigns (including distribution of long-lasting insecticide impregnated bed nets, indoor spraying
and seasonal malaria chemoprevention), the reported level of disruption is still significant and needs to be urgently addressed.
WHO will continue to support countries so they can respond to increased strains on health systems and rapidly evolving priorities and
needs throughout the course of the pandemic, and to ensure that COVID-19 control strategies are in balance strategies to tackle other
health priorities and secure continued access to comprehensive care for everyone, including the most vulnerable.    -UNB

US to share 60 million doses AstraZeneca vaccines with world

Published : Monday, 26 April, 2021 at 11:32 PM  Co
 US to share 60 million doses AstraZeneca vaccines with world
The U.S. will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once the COVID-19 vaccine clear federal safety reviews, the White House told The Associated Press
on Monday, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months.

The move greatly expands on the Biden administration’s action last month to share about 4 million doses of the vaccine with Mexico and Canada. The AstraZeneca vaccine is
widely in use around the world but not yet authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The move comes as the White House is increasingly assured about the supply of the three vaccines being administered in the U.S., particularly following the restart of the single-
dose Johnson & Johnson shot over the weekend.

“Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the U.S. already has and that have been authorized by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the
U.S., we do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next several months,” said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. “Therefore the U.S. is looking at
options to share the AstraZeneca doses with other countries as they become available.”

More than 3 million people worldwide have died of COVID-19.

About 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been produced but have yet to pass review by the FDA to “meet its expectations for product quality,” Zients said. That
process could be completed in the next several weeks. About 50 million more doses are in various stages of production and could be available to ship in May and June pending
FDA sign-off.

The U.S. has yet to finalize where the AstraZeneca doses will go, Zients said. Neighbors Mexico and Canada have asked the Biden administration to share more doses, while
dozens of other countries are looking to access supplies of the vaccine. The doses will be donated by the U.S. government, which has contracted with the company for a total of
300 million doses — though the company has faced production issues.

AstraZeneca’s doses in the U.S. were produced at an Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore that has come under increased regulatory and public scrutiny after botching batches
of the J&J vaccine. The U.S. pressed J&J to take over the plant and, as part of the effort to ensure the quality of newly produced vaccines, directed the facility to stop making the
AstraZeneca shot. AstraZeneca is still looking to identify a new U.S. production facility for its future doses.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was initially expected to be the first to receive federal emergency authorization, and the U.S. government ordered enough for 150 million Americans before
issues with the vaccine’s clinical trial held up clearance. The company’s 30,000-person U.S. trial didn’t complete enrollment until January, and it has still not filed for an
emergency use authorization with the FDA.

Pharmaceutical industry grows during pandemic

Published : Monday, 26 April, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 262
Currently almost all major sectors of the country have been experiencing fall in production triggered by the pandemic. On the contrary,
the pharmaceutical industry has been experiencing an opposite reality. The crucial sector remains largely unhurt, during the pandemic
as local drug makers registered a growth in production.

Consequently, people have easy access to drugs including life saving medicines, reducing the fatality related to Covid-19 and other
diseases. However, thanks to the pharmaceutical industry for being able to produce and maintain a strong supply chain. Pharmaceutical
companies continue to supply essential drugs to markets both at home and abroad.

According to a recent Bangladesh Bank survey titled "Economic and Financial Stability Implications of Covid-19: Bangladesh Bank and
Government's Policy Responses", the growth of the overall manufacturing industry fell to 5.47 per cent  from 14.84 per cent in June last
year as production fell sharply from January 2020 and continued with this trend till April that year. However, production picked up
quickly from May last year, demonstrating the capability of pharmaceutical industry during the pandemic.

The reason behind this success of the pharmaceutical sector is a rise in demand for new medicines and healthcare products. Different
local companies manufacture generic anti-Coronavirus drugs. These types of medicines help to save many Covid-19 patients around the
globe, increasing the prestige of the country. In addition, people have been procuring vitamin supplements and antibiotic drugs in
abundance to enhance immunity and treat critical diseases resulting in the growth of the sector.

Local drug makers are also performing strongly in the international market. Consequently, the high business performance brought high
profit for pharma companies, putting a positive impression on share prices in the country's stock market. Needs be mentioned,
pharmaceutical is the second dominating sector in the stock market after the banking sector--as the output steadily increased
throughout 2020.

However, it is inspiring that Bangladesh exports medicines to 145 countries, including a few highly regulated markets such as the
European Union and Australia. Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry has proved its competence and capability by responding to
demands of our health sector by producing necessary drugs in shorter time. We hope that this success will lead the industry to greater
success in the upcoming days.

To finish with, in order to develop more effective export strategies to yield better and sustainable results, our pharmaceutical
manufacturers need to continually monitor and assess their performance in terms of sales volume, changes in product demand and
sales trends for  each major destination country.    t : 26