COVID-19: UNICEF delivers over 100 million vaccines to Bangladesh as Omicron takes over

Amid the rising cases of the new Omicron variant across the globe, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided approximately 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations to Bangladesh since June 2021, from different World Health Organization (WHO)-approved producers. According to a press release from UNICEF, Bangladesh has achieved the benchmark after receiving a delivery of 20.46 million vaccine doses from China on Tuesday, as part of a cost-sharing deal between the Bangladesh administration, the Asian Development Bank, as well as UNICEF. 

UNICEF has supplied more than 50 million doses of COVID vaccines to Bangladesh via the COVAX facility, bringing the total number of vaccinations provided to 100 million. In addition to the vaccinations given by UNICEF, the government of Bangladesh has acquired considerable supplies of vaccines through bilateral agreements.  

The new COVID vaccines supply would help Bangladesh to reach 80% vaccination 

Sheldon Yett, the UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh, stated: “The clearest way out of this pandemic is vaccine equity and boosting vaccination rates globally. Getting vaccines from manufacturers and into recipients’ arms in every corner of Bangladesh as quickly as possible is critical,” as per the press release. Furthermore, UNICEF revealed that the new vaccine supply is a welcome boost for the nation's attempts to reach its goal of vaccinating 80% of the population by June 2022. As of Sunday, 28.44% of Bangladesh's entire population had received a second dosage of the vaccine, according to the agency. 

Indicating the vaccine supply in Bangladesh, Yett added that receiving the vaccines would only be the beginning of the fight, further, safely delivering them to the communities who require them the most is equally important. The UNICEF Representative also said, “We salute the Government of Bangladesh and partner organisations who make this possible,” as per the press release.  

Furthermore, since February 2021, UNICEF has been coordinating the worldwide shipment of COVID-19 vaccines and supplies for the COVAX Facility, in what is the biggest and most complicated logistical undertaking in vaccination history. 

COVID cases in Bangladesh

Meanwhile, after reporting three more Omicron cases on December 29, Bangladesh is now currently standing with seven Omicron cases, Dhaka Tribune reported. On Tuesday morning, Bangladesh recorded one additional fatality from Covid-19 and 397 new cases. Meanwhile, as per Worldometers, over 1,584,518 individuals have been affected by the disease in the nation since the outbreak, and more than 28,063 people have lost their lives due to cCoronavirus. 

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