Int’l bodies to supply COVAX vaccines to Vietnam

The Chief Representatives of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam made the statement at a working session with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam in Hanoi on February 5.

They informed Dam of a COVID-19 vaccine delivery under the WHO-initiated COVAX programme, and said the UN Secretary General and the WHO Director General Vietnam are keen to supply COVID-19 vaccines to poor, developing countries and Vietnam is among the priority recipients.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

They said COVAX will provide free of charge a certain quantity of vaccines for poor countries, while the host government will fund the vaccination.

Deputy PM Dam thanked the international organisations for support and said the vaccines will be effectively used in Vietnam.

The chief representatives of international organisations spoke highly Vietnam’s successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic last year as well as its efforts to combat the fresh outbreak at present.

Currently, the chief representatives of the UNDP, UNICEF and WHO are working closely with the Ministry of Health to work out an injection plan as required by COVAX. First doses of WHO-initiated vaccine programme are expected to reach Vietnam in the first quarter of 2021 if conditions allow.

Vietnam has recorded nearly 400 coronavirus cases since the virus recurred in late January 2021. The fresh outbreak has been reported in 12 cities and provinces, with Hai Duong and Quang Ninh being the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspots.

With the government’s drastic measures in place, the fresh outbreak has basically been brought under control in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh.

Four Vietnamese firms are researching and developing vaccines against COVID-19. Two of them are carrying out clinical trials of their vaccines, Nano Covax and Covivac. The locally-made vaccines are due to be commercially marketed later this year.

Vietnam has recently signed an agreement with UK-based vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, with the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines expected to arrive in Vietnam in either late February or early March. Approximately 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are anticipated to reach Vietnamese people by this June.