Additional 921,400 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses arrive in Vietnam

Thứ Sáu, 16/07/2021, 20:17
As many as 921,400 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived at Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Thursday morning.

The delivery is in response to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s recent request during a meeting with AstraZeneca and Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). It demonstrates the company’s great effort to urgently supply the vaccine for Vietnam to fight against the pandemic. 

This delivery has been the fourth and the largest batch by now, according to a purchase agreement signed between AstraZeneca Vietnam and VNVC with the auspices of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam. 

So far, the country has received more than 1.9 million doses, equivalent to around 30 percent of the total COVID-19 vaccine sums that Astra Zeneca is due to provide for the country according to the deal. 

By this time, Vietnam has received nearly 6.4 million doses of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine in total, of which nearly 2 million doses come from the above purchase deal between Astra Zeneca and Vietnamese side, and the remainders result from bilateral aid between Vietnam and other countries, as well as from the UN COVAC program. 

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine currently accounts for 71 percent of all vaccine supplies in the country. AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has played an important role in fighting the pandemic as it has saved tens of thousands of lives since the beginning of this year. 

A recent report from Public Health England (PHE) showed that two doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine can reduce 92% hospitalization cases due to the Delta variant and there have been no deaths recorded among people injected with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was the first to be approved in Vietnam. 

It has contributed positively to the Government's national vaccination program. According to the Ministry of Health, by 14 July 2021, more than 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine have been injected across the country.

By DT