Bangladesh signs deal to buy Chinese Covid-19 vaccines, price remains undisclosed

Bangladesh has signed a deal with China to buy the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, said the country's Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday without disclosing the price or quantity of doses.

"The recent revelation of vaccine prices has created some issues. We have to maintain non-disclosure clauses strictly according to the deal," Maleque said during a programme at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in the capital city of Dhaka.

Moreover, the minister did not disclose the date and the price of the deal. He also did not even disclose the number of doses, Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

This comes as the disclosure of procurement price of Sinopharm vaccine in Sri Lanka last month had sparked a row after reports emerged that Colombo had to shell out a higher per-dose price than its fellow South Asian country Bangladesh.

According to the Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka is paying USD 15 per dose for the Sinopharm vaccine, which is USD 5 higher than what Bangladesh paid.

Bangladesh had started its inoculation drive against coronavirus with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine procured from India at USD 5 per dose. As things stand, the Chinese vaccine is set to cost Bangladesh double the AstraZeneca shot from the Serum Institute of India.

Similarly, Sri Lanka is reported to have purchased one dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for USD 5.50, which is almost one-third the price being offered by Beijing.

( With inputs from ANI )

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