Bangladesh would start COVID-19 vaccination with inoculation of a nurse at Kurmitola General Hospital on January 27, said health secretary Abdul Mannan on Saturday.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would virtually inaugurate the vaccination.

The health secretary made the statements while talking to reporters after visiting National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology in Dhaka on Saturday.

A total of 25 healthcare providers would be vaccinated at KGH on the first day, he said, adding that some 400-500 healthcare providers would be vaccinated primarily and would be observed for a week before starting nationwide vaccination programme.

Earlier, on Thursday, Bangladesh received 20 lakh doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as gift from India,

The country is expected to get 50 lakh doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India by January 25 under a deal on buying three crore doses from the Serum through its local vendor Beximco Pharma.