Additional secretary made OSD after vaccine price disclosure

Shahida Akter, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, who disclosed the price of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine recently, has been made officer on special duty (OSD) and transferred to Ministry of Public Works.

On May 27, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase approved a proposal for buying 1.5 crore doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, produced by Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinopharm.

After the meeting, Shahida said that the Chinese vaccine will come in three phases — 5 million every month and per dose will cost Bangladesh $10.

Following the disclosure, government high-ups expressed dissatisfaction, saying making public of such sensitive information could result in negative impact of Bangladesh’s negotiation in purchasing Covid-19 vaccine.

Ministry of Public Works on June 1 issued the circular of her transfer and the notification was uploaded on its website on Sunday.