At a time when the country's Covid-19 vaccination efforts are grinding to a halt due to shortage of doses, the foreign minister has remarked about delays in the procurement process caused by the health ministry's mismanagement. We appreciate the candour of his statement. The inefficiencies such as those highlighted by the minister in the urgent procurement process are regrettable to say the least.

While Bangladesh's vaccination efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic started out strong, the recent deadly surge of cases and deaths in India, coupled with shortage of doses there and a reported ban on exports, has meant that the country's planned supply of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India was affected. With the country running out of available doses, many people who have received the first dose may be unable to receive the second jab in time. Considering the situation, the government has been looking towards urgent procurement from other sources—particularly China and Russia—to continue the vaccination efforts.

China has already gifted Bangladesh 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, with reports of another 600,000 to be provided. The foreign minister has remarked that there are ongoing efforts to collect vaccine from other sources as well, including from the US. However, other countries with higher death rates may be prioritised. In this context, the importance of a steady supply of the vaccine is crucial to continue our vaccination efforts. Thus, these delays in efforts for procuring from China and Russia—due to signing of wrong documents for example—have far-reaching consequences. They undermine the proactive efforts of the health and foreign ministries towards sourcing vaccines.

Only recently we saw how badly prepared our health sector has been in dealing with large number of cases as people had to rush from hospital to hospital looking for vacant ICU beds. Vaccination is crucial for slowing down the rate of new infections, preventing deaths, and ultimately towards ending this pandemic. Second doses for those who have received the first dose already are needed to ensure maximum efficacy of the vaccines. At the same time, we are far from vaccinating enough people in the country to reach herd immunity. Remembering these realities, we hope that the foreign minister's remarks are taken seriously, and concerted efforts are undertaken to resolve the inefficiencies and mismanagement he has highlighted in the vaccine procurement process. It is urgent for Bangladesh to resume large-scale vaccination and the longer the delays, the longer this pandemic will last.