Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said that the government has intensified efforts to get vaccines from the United States as it will share up to 60 million jabs of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries.
”We’re expecting it much,” Dr Momen told reporters at his residence adding that the Bangladesh Ambassador to US M Shahidul Islam is in touch with the officials concerned of the US government regarding the issue.
The Foreign Minister further said he is likely to have a US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller on Thursday to know the detailed updates on the overall issues, including oxygen supply to Bangladesh.
”We’ve heard that they are prioritizing India and Brazil as many people died in these two countries recently,” he said.
Dr Momen said the Indian diaspora is strongly lobbying with the federal government so that the US sends a whole lot of vaccine doses to them. ”They’re very powerful. One lady is taking the lead.”
He also requested the Bangladeshi diaspora to approach the US government to make them feel urgency with communication from all sides.
Dr Momen said the United States assured the world of making Covid-19 vaccines available for other countries, including in Bangladesh, once they have surplus reaching the level of mass vaccination in the US.
