Australia offers over 7mln more Pfizer vaccine doses to Vietnam

The vaccines were delivered to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City between March 28 and May 20.

The shipment has raised the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses supported by Australia to Vietnam to more than 22.2 million, including 7.8 million doses for adults and more than 7.2 million doses for children.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie said that Australia has been proud to work on the national vaccination campaign in partnership with Vietnam since its first launch 2021, sharing adult vaccine doses and supporting the rollout across the country.

Along with these shipments, Australia is also providing around US$60 million in support of the Vietnamese vaccine rollout.

As part of this package, Australia is working with UNICEF and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health as it seeks to strengthen vaccine delivery systems, including cold chain upgrades, training for healthcare workers, as well as the planning and implementation of the rollout in remote provinces. This package also includes mobile vaccination drives in remote areas.

Rana Flowers, a representative of UNICEF, noted that vaccines are still the best choice to reduce the mortality and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that vaccines help to reduce the probability that children will get long-COVID or suffer from any major side effects.

“UNICEF is delighted to join hands with Australia to provide COVID-19 vaccines for children in Vietnam as well as to support our partners to enhance the capacity of the health and immunisation systems to efficiently and equitably distribute vaccines,” says Flowers.