Fund crunch to impact free Covid-19 vaccination for all

The government’s plan to administer Covid-19 vaccines to all the citizens free of cost might face hurdles due to a shortage of required funds.

It might need more than Tk14,000 crore or $1.56 billion for free vaccination of the 16.5 crore people against this fiscal year’s budgetary allocation of Tk10,000 crore, said an official of the finance division.    

Since the government’s income is yet to pick up due to the pandemic, there is an uncertainty if it will be able to manage the amount allocated in the budget, let alone collecting the actual amount needed for free vaccination for all, said the official seeking anonymity.

Traditionally, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been the biggest source of earnings for the government.

But till September 25, the NBR collected Tk41,0187 crore against a collection target of Tk58,728 crore in the first quarter (July-September) of the 2020-21 fiscal year, resulting in a deficit of Tk13,540 crore, said a source in the revenue board.

To overcome the fund crisis, the finance division official said the division had recently asked the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to explore possible sources of funds from multilateral and bilateral development partners.

In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the finance ministry allocated Tk11,132.84 crore for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the amount, Tk10,000 crore was allocated for vaccination of the country’s citizens, Tk500 crore as compensation for the families of those who died at the frontline, Tk100 crore as allowance for doctors and nurses, and the remaining Tk532.84 crore for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

However, while talking to Business Insider over the phone on Saturday, Health Minister Zahid Malik said: “We have Tk10,000 crore [referring to the amount allocated in the budget for buying vaccines] in our hands; whatever the procurement process demands, the government will spend for the vaccines. If it needs more, the government will allocate more.

“In the first phase of procurement of vaccines from abroad, a payment process is underway,” he added.

According to the ERD, the government will require nearly $500 million worth of funds in the first phase to vaccinate 3.5 crore people who are on the priority list.

In the second phase, it will need another $500 million to $1 billion worth of funds for immunising the remaining people in the country.

Earlier, the government decided to vaccinate the whole population free of cost. The initiative will require more than $1 billion, a health ministry official then said.

In this regard, the government last week signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bangladesh's Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd to procure 3 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Serum.

The vaccine – Covishield – is being developed by the University of Oxford in collaboration with AstraZeneca and the SII. After the vaccine is developed, the SII will provide 3 crore doses in the first phase, and Beximco Pharmaceuticals will bring those to Bangladesh. One dose of vaccine will cost $5 (Tk425).

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in its Fair allocation mechanism for Covid-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility proposal, said that 20% priority group of the total population will get the vaccine in the first phase.

Most of the priority groups, the healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, population beyond 65 years of age, people with co-morbidity are on the list of first priority.

Then the remaining 80% of the total population would get the vaccine free of cost in the second round.