A health worker is giving COVID-19 vaccination shot to a man (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam hopes to receive more from international
organisations and countries around the world to access more sources of
COVID-19 vaccines, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long told at an online meeting
with representatives from the COVAX Facility scheme (COVAX) and health
officials from a number of countries on June 1.
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.
He urged COVAX to accelerate the supply of vaccines for Vietnam, noting that
the country is witnessing the increasing number of locally-transmitted
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 500,000 USD 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 ese health official thanked COVAX Facility,
s 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./.
Source: VietnamPlus
