Australia to present over 400,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

A dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: IRNA/VNA)

Sydney (VNA) - Australia will deliver more than 400,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam this week to help the Southeast Asian nation fight against the pandemic.

In a joint media release on August 26, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja said the delivery is the first instalment towards Australia’s commitment of 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses to be shared this year with Vietnam, a close friend and strategic partner.

It is in addition to Australia’s existing 40 million AUD package of vaccine-related support to Vietnam. Australia is partnering with UNICEF to procure additional doses to support Vietnam’s COVID-19 response, and providing funding for syringes, training of healthcare workers, fridges to maintain cold chain storage, and support for the vaccine rollout in remote provinces.

The batch brings the total number of doses that Australia has shared with the Pacific and Southeast Asia to over 2 million. This is part of Australia’s commitment to sharing at least 20 million doses with the region by mid-2022./.

VNA