Health Minister works with Jonhson & Jonhson on COVID-19 vaccine supply

At the virtual meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long
on June 4 held a virtual meeting with the US multinational corporation Johnson
& Johnson discussed the import, supply, and production technology transfer
of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in Vietnam.

Affirming that Vietnam wants to quickly access diverse
sources of vaccines to serve domestic demand for vaccination, Long wished Johnson
& Johnson to develop a plan on supplying Vietnam with its vaccine.

Vietnam also wants to cooperate with the group in
outsourcing and technology transfer to establish a vaccine production facility in the country, he
added.

Many Vietnamese groups want to join the global vaccine
supply chain, thus Johnson & Johnson’s technology transfer to Vietnam to
produce COVID-19 vaccine is highly expected, the minister said.

Vietnam is among more than 40 nations worldwide that is
capable of making vaccines against the coronavirus. Vietnam’s National
Regulatory Authority (NRA) for vaccines also meets the standards set by the World
Health Organisation (WHO).

Lauding Vietnam’s effective pandemic prevention and control,
a Johnson & Johnson representative said that the company has joined the COVAX mechanism
with a commitment to supplying 200 million doses of its vaccine until the end of
2021.

Johnson & Johnson pledged that it will strive to speed
up the vaccine supply process via the mechanism, so that Vietnam could secure the vaccine as soon as possible. The group also unveiled its plan on applying its
vaccine for authorisation in Vietnam

The Johnson& Johnson side said it will consider the possibility
of transferring vaccine production technology to Vietnam.

The same day, Samsung Vietnam handed over 10 billion VND (431,376
USD) worth of donations to the COVID-19 vaccine fund of Bac Ninh, as the
northern province has borne the brunt of the fourth wave of the pandemic in
Vietnam, which  began in late April.

At the handover ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Samsung Bac Ninh employs about 50,000 workers, of
whom approximately 15,000 are expected to be vaccinated./.