The Bangladesh government has given final approval for the third phase trial of China's prospective Covid-19 vaccine.
Health Minister Zahid Malque made the disclosure at a press briefing on Thursday, a month after the ethical clearance of the vaccine trial by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on July 19.
Chinese company Sinovac Biotech developed the vaccine which entered the phase-3 or last phase trial after the first two successful human applications. Sinovac is conducting this trial in Brazil also.
The health minister said the vaccine would be applied to those who would come forward to be volunteers.
Healthcare workers including doctors and nurses would be given the preference, he said, adding that Bangladesh is open to allow other vaccines to conduct trials if they make proposals.
Earlier, the BMRC, following the proposal of the icddr,b, which will conduct the trial, said 4,200 candidates will be taken with half of them will get the vaccine.
Mughda Medical College Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital Burn Unit-1, Kurmitola General Hospital, Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital, Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital Unit -2 and Dhaka Mohanagar Hospital have been fixed as the trial sites.
The virus first emerged in China in December last year. The WHO declared the virus pandemic on March 11. It has killed hundreds of thousands of people and ravaged the global economy.
Bangladesh confirmed over 300,000 cases so far. Over 4,000 patients died of the disease, according to the health department.
So far, no vaccine has been approved for commercial use.
According to the WHO, there are 19 vaccine trials in clinical evaluation and hundreds being developed and tested around the world to stop the pandemic.
AstraZeneca's vaccine, developed by researchers at the Oxford University, and China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and Moderna are also conducting the Phase 3 trials.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials typically test the safety of a drug before it enters Phase 3 trials that test its efficacy.
Chinese ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming earlier said that Bangladesh would be prioritised in the vaccine distribution once approved.
He had also expressed his interest to be the first volunteer of the trial.
