Bangladesh approves second Chinese vaccine for emergency use

DHAKA -- Bangladesh's drug regulator has authorized the emergency use of another Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) made the announcement Sunday, saying "CoronaVac", manufactured by Sinovac Life Sciences Co. Ltd, is the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to get emergency use approval in Bangladesh.

The DGDA gave the green light after the leading local pharmaceuticals company Incepta Vaccine Ltd applied for its approval for emergency use in the country.

CoronaVac has already received emergency use authorization in dozens of other countries.

The World Health Organization has also issued Emergency Use Listing status to the CoronaVac vaccine.

Bangladesh's drug regulator had earlier authorized the emergency use of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.

Hualong Yan, minister-counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, Saturday said the second batch of Sinopharm vaccines donated by Chinese government is ready for delivery by June 13.

About 1,000 medical students from Bangladesh's four top leading medical colleges have recently taken their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine thanks to Sinopharm vaccines donated by China.

Bangladesh kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination drive on Jan. 28 to rein in the pandemic that has so far spread across the country.

On Sunday, the country's Directorate General of Health Services reported 1,676 new cases of COVID-19 and 38 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 810,990 and the total death toll to 12,839.