China may run the second phase trial of coronavirus vaccine, which further evaluates the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in human body, in Bangladesh, said Director General (DG) of Directorate General of Health Services Dr Abul Kalam Azad.
“Chinese government may run the second phase human trial of a possible coronavirus vaccine in Bangladesh,” he said.
The DG was speaking at a virtual conference with the members of Bangladesh Health Reporters Forum recently.
“Our country may also produce the vaccine following the result of the trial,” he added.
Professor Azad said, “Earlier, the virus could infect two persons from one person but the ‘reproduction rate or RO of the virus has reduced in our country, the R rate is now 1.05, which is a very good sign.”
A reproduction rate of less than 1 means that an outbreak is subsiding, since each infected person is transmitting the virus to fewer than one other person.
An RO rate above 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially, with each contagious person infecting more than one other person. An RO of more than 1 is also an indication that hospitals and healthcare systems are vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed.
During the fast-spreading initial outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the reproduction rate was estimated at around 2.5, according to a World Health Organization analysis.
“Our main goal is now to reduce the number of infected patients and death rates,” he further said.
Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) former president Dr Rashid E Mahbub, Former DG, Directorate General of Health Services Prof Dr MA Faiz, Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad (SWACHIP) President M Iqbal Arslan and Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Advisor Mushtaq Hossain attended the virtual conference. ♦
(The story originally published by BSS)
