Bangladesh approves Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use

DHAKA: The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) of Bangladesh has green-lit the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the second vaccine to be used in the country.

The decision came after health authorities in Bangladesh stopped administering the first jab of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Monday amid uncertainties over further shipments, reported Dhaka Tribune.

The country is in desperate need of COVID-19 vaccine doses to ensure the continuation of the nationwide inoculation drive.

The decision to approve Sputnik V was announced by DGDA Director General Major General Md Mahbubur Rahman on Tuesday, who said that the import, production and use of the Russian vaccine has been green-lit in the country.

"We are expecting around four million vaccine doses to arrive in May," he added.

He further said that only a handful of pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh have the facilities necessary to manufacture vaccines, which will be evaluated by Russian representatives.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the government had given the DGDA the green light to approve the vaccines accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international drug regulators, Dhaka Tribune reported.

A technical experts' committee recommended that the vaccine be approved on Tuesday noon after reviewing all necessary documents and its efficacy.

When asked if Sputnik V could be administered as the second dose to people who had received their first dose of Covishield vaccine since the country was running out of the latter, the DGDA DG said a committee had been formed to analyze that avenue.

Rahman said the hunt for another vaccine would continue despite the approval for Sputnik V.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Bangladesh has recorded a total of 7,51,659 COVID-19 infections and 11,228 related deaths.