Bangladesh, two other S Asia countries nearly out of Covid vaccines: Officials

Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are close to running out of coronavirus vaccines, authorities said Friday, and are hoping China and Russia will bolster South Asia’s efforts to tackle a devastating pandemic wave.

Covid-19 cases and deaths have hit record levels across India and its neighbours in recent weeks and all are counting on vaccine campaigns to head off the next surge.

But India’s move last month to ban vaccine exports because of growing domestic shortages has badly hit other countries, and the three South Asian nations have slowed their vaccination campaigns as they scour international markets for new stocks.

Bangladesh has about one million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Chinese Sinopharm jabs, and was expecting 100,000 Pfizer shots, but all will be gone in “days”, government health chief ABM Khorshed Alam said.

The country of 168 million people has reported some 800,000 infections and 12,200 deaths. As in other South Asian nations, experts say the true toll is much higher.

Bangladesh had a deal to buy 30 million Covishield doses from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker. Only seven million had been delivered when India halted exports last month.

It has since contacted China and Russia to get their vaccines and Western countries who may have surplus AstraZeneca shots.

One deal with China for an unspecified number of Sinopharm shots was approved on Wednesday, officials said.

But China’s Ambassador Li Jiming said Bangladesh should not expect commercial supplies before December.

Nepal has an estimated 1.5 million people waiting for a second shot of Covishield, with supplies also held up by the Indian export ban. It is now getting through dwindling numbers of Sinopharm jabs given by China.

Sri Lanka, with a population of 21 million, has about 115,000 vaccine doses left and has slowed its inoculations to 15,000 a day as it also negotiates with other countries, officials said.