During his remarks, Minister Long, on behalf of the Vietnamese Government, highly valued the initiative of the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in establishing the scheme with the goal of providing 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, and ensuring fair and equal access to Covid-19 vaccines for all countries.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

He urged COVAX to accelerate the supply of vaccines for Vietnam, noting that the country is witnessing the increasing number of locally-transmitted Covid-19 infections, especially in industrial parks.

Vietnam is actively promoting the purchase of technology, receiving technology transfer for vaccine production to be able to self-produce vaccines serving local people, Long said.

According to the minister, Vietnam has so far received nearly 2.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX out of a total of 38.9 million doses committed by it in 2021.

Vietnam is urgently carrying out its vaccination campaign in line with the plan approved by COVAX Facility, he noted.

Vietnam is committed to participating in the technology transfer chain for vaccine production, he said, adding that the country will invest in a vaccine production factory, which is expected to be licensed for production to supply vaccines to COVAX Facility and other countries.

Minister Long announced that Vietnam will contribute US$500,000 to the COVAX Facility scheme. This support shows appreciation for the effectiveness of this global initiative in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, and affirms the Vietnamese Government’s commitment to engaging strongly in the programme, he stressed.

The Vietnamese health official thanked COVAX Facility, international organisations and countries around the world for supporting Vietnam in accessing vaccines in the framework of the scheme and other vaccine sources, expressing his hope that with the cooperation of the world community, COVAX will realise its goal, contributing to pushing back the global pandemic with vaccines.

COVAX Facility – a mechanism set up by the WHO, GAVI, UNICEF, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and manufacturers and partners for the development of vaccines to ensure that all countries have fair and effective access to vaccines.

According to an announcement from UNICEF, the COVAX Facility has committed to supplying Vietnam with 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine this year.

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Source: NDO/VNA