PM orders ironing out snags in local vaccine production

PM Pham Minh Chinh says obstacles to local vaccine production must be removed

Addressing a meeting with representatives of ministries, agencies, vaccine manufacturers and scientists, PM Chinh stressed the importance of vaccine production in the national three-pronged vaccine strategy Vietnam has adopted and pursued in an effort to keep the COVID-19 pandemic in check.

Besides vaccine imports and free public vaccinations, the government pays special attention to the research and development of local vaccines, he told the meeting.  

The meeting, he said, aimed to re-evaluate the ability, research results, and technology transfer of vaccine production in the country, as well as problems that have arisen during the process.

Representatives of ministries, agencies, vaccine manufacturers and scientists attend the meeting.

According to the Ministry of Health, two locally produced COVID-19 vaccines, Nano Covax and Covivac, are entering their human clinical trials, and they are both promising vaccines.

In addition, three Vietnamese units have negotiated on technology transfer of vaccine production with their counterparts from the United States, Japan and Russia.

These firms are in the process of carrying out clinical trials in Vietnam, and they are likely to get down to work on production, with a capacity of between 200-300 million doses per year if conditions allow.

The Ministry of Health also proposed that the Government remove some institutional obstacles, especially those related to the licensing of vaccines for epidemic prevention and control.

PM Pham Minh Chinh acknowledged the Health Ministry’s proposal and requested relevant ministries and agencies to work on it to facilitate local vaccine production according to the law.