Giorgio Aliberti, the EU ambassador to Vietnam, said the subject could now be discussed since more countries are set to produce Covid-19 vaccines, and Vietnam has "potential" in vaccine manufacturing.

A medical worker is inoculated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in HCMC's District 11 Hospital, March 24, 2021.

Asked by correspondents about safety concerns over the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and others distributed through global vaccine access mechanism Covax, he said the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the European Medicines Agency's committee responsible for assessing and monitoring the safety of human medicines, has concluded that the vaccine's benefits far outweigh its potential risks, and that cases of blood clots are exceedingly rare.

He said the AstraZeneca vaccine should continue to be used, and the decision is based on scientific evidence.

The EU is a sponsor of Covax, which planned to donate to Vietnam around 4.1 million doses by April. But Dang Duc Anh, director of the National Institute Of Hygiene And Epidemiology, said due to the difficulties in vaccine manufacturing around the world, the handover could be delayed.

Vietnam began a mass Covid vaccination program using the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this month, starting with frontline workers.

Around 38,000 people have received their first shots.

Vietnam's 'Chi Chi Em Em' wins award at Japan film festival

'Chi Chi Em Em' (Sister Sister) directed by Kathy Uyen has won the ABC TV Award at the 2021 Osaka Asian Film Festival in Japan.

Aviation industry to suffer $649 mln loss

Vietnamese carriers could suffer a loss of more than VND15 trillion ($649 million) this year with the suspension of commercial international flights still in effect.

Source: VnExpress