DHAKA, Jan– Indian High Commissioner Vikram K
Doraiswami today said India has ensured that Bangladesh would get the
COVID 19 vaccine ‘quickly’ and ‘urgently’ under his country’s
neighbourhood first policy.
“The vaccine issue is everybody’s right and we will ensure the
government here gets it quickly,” he told reporters after attending
the inauguration of the 19th International film festival in the
capital.
The envoy said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that the
vaccine capacity will be provided for the benefit of everybody and
Bangladesh will get the priority.
“Bangladesh will get it urgently as you know we rolled out for
three lakh people today in India,” he said.
He said the exact schedule will communicate with the Bangladesh
government soon. “There is a time schedule, I will tell your
government – not in the media,” he said.
Saying that the Bangladesh government has the priority first,
Doraiswami said, “As soon as the (Bangladesh) government indicates
everything is ready, we will work accordingly”.
India’s vaccination drive, the world’s largest immunisation
exercise against Covid-19, kicked off today with priority to about 30
million health care and frontline workers to be inoculated in the
first phase.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier this month
approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum
Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for
restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive
inoculation drive.