AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine of the (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The
Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health has approved the import of the first 204,000
doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine of the UK for emergency
use.
This is the first batch of Vietnam’s
order of 30 million doses of the vaccine bought directly from the manufacturer
(with phased delivery throughout 2021), in addition to 4.88 million doses
that the country is receiving under the WHO-led COVAX initiative aimed at
equitable access to vaccines, especially for poor and developing
countries.
The batch is
expected to be delivered by AstraZeneca Vietnam on February 28.
The company is
responsible for the origin, quality of the imported vaccine and the vaccine is used for the right purposes and in a safe and effective manner, the
administration’s document approving the import noted.
Previously,
ese health authorities have given emergency use approval for the
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, the first COVID-19 vaccine to obtain such
authorisation in the country.
Related agencies
are still in talks with the company for larger supply to Vietnam to ensure
inoculation for its near 100 million population.
Vietnam opted
for the Oxford/Zeneca vaccine mostly because it could be stored at normal
fridge temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius, instead of stringent super cold
storage conditions like its Moderna and Pfizer counterparts, according to Le
Van Truyen, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Granting of Drug Registration
Numbers.
The company has
also cooperated with several countries in Europe and Asia to produce the
vaccines, Truyen said.
Vietnam has one
locally-made COVID-19 vaccine, Nanocovax, in the second phase human trials, with
another expected to start at the end of February.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc
at a recent cabinet meeting has said that importing COVID-19 vaccines must be
considered “the highest priority of the Government,” as the country is battling
its biggest wave of community infections, that has recorded over 700 cases
since January 27./.
Source: VietnamPlus
