The Health Secretary of the South Asian nation of Bangladesh, Abdul Mannan, on Tuesday stated that the country would receive its first batch of coronavirus vaccines by February and added that people would receive them free of charge, as per a Reuters report.

The Sheikh Hasina administered country that has a population of over 16.14 crores had inked a deal last month with the Serum Institute of India to buy 30 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by British drug maker AstraZeneca.

The Health Secretary Mannan, told reporters, “We expect to get the vaccine as early as February and people will get it for free,” as per a Reuters report.

The first recipients of the vaccine would be health service providers and front line workers like the police.

For developing nations located in southeast Asia, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca offers the best hope due to the drug’s cheap price and for its ability to be transported at normal fridge temperatures, stated a Reuters report.

Mannan added that the country would also receive 68 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the GAVI vaccine alliance, reported Reuters.

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The GAVI alliance set up in 2000, is a global health partnership that helps increase access to immunisation in poor countries.

Bangladesh has recorded over 465,000 COVID-19 cases since the inception of the pandemic in January. While 381,000 people have recorded from the disease, the country has registered 6,644 deaths.

2,293 new COVID-19 cases and 31 deaths were reported in the country on Tuesday.