Novavax Inc said on Thursday its coronavirus vaccine was 89.3% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK, according to a preliminary analysis.

Johnson & Johnson on Friday said its single-dose vaccine was 72% effective in preventing Covid-19 in the United States but a lower rate of 66% was observed globally in the large trial conducted across three continents and against multiple variants.

Seven people have died from Covid-19 in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Covid-19 vaccines have started to reach Rajshahi division, Sylhet division, Barishal division and Bogura district in the country today.

Bangladesh has urged the WHO, Vaccine Alliance, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and UNICEF to play a visible and effective role to urgently ensure supply of coronavirus vaccines under the COVAX facility to developing countries, particularly the low- and the middle-income countries.

The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has issued a conditional No Objection Certificate (NOC) on importing Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine for Covid-19 to inoculate the citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine who are working at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine should only be given to people aged between 18 and 64, Germany’s vaccine committee said in a draft recommendation, a day ahead of a decision by European regulators on whether to approve the drugmaker’s shot.

Europe’s fight to secure Covid-19 vaccine supplies sharpened when Britain demanded that it receive all the shots it paid for after the European Union asked AstraZeneca to divert supplies from the UK.

I took the first shot of the vaccine today at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

India said on Thursday it had curbed an increase in Covid-19 infections, with a fifth of its districts reporting no new cases for a week, even as its immunisation campaign has covered 2.4 million people.

Fifteen people have died from Covid-19 in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The first-run of the Covid-19 vaccination kicked off at five hospitals in Dhaka today.

The European Union’s dispute with AstraZeneca intensified Wednesday with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker denying the EU’s assertion that it had pulled out of talks on vaccine supplies.

Poorer countries face a best-case scenario of a 6-8 month lag behind richer nations in getting access to Covid-19 vaccines to protect their populations against the pandemic disease, the philanthropist Bill Gates said on Wednesday.

Twenty-five Bangladeshis out of the 28 who arrived in Sylhet from the UK five days ago tested negative for Covid-19 yesterday, just a day after they tested positive.

At least 17 people have died from Covid-19 and 528 people were infected in 24 hours (till 8:00am), according to a press release issued from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) today.

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as countries around the world struggle with new virus variants and vaccine shortfalls.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today virtually inaugurated the country's pilot Covid-19 vaccination programme at Kurmitola General Hospital.

Runu Veronica Costa, a senior nurse of Kurmitola General Hospital, received the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the pilot vaccination programme.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today informed the parliament that about 1.67 crore people, from around 20 different sectors of the country, will receive Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis.