At the handover ceremony (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on October 19 received one of the two Illumina gene sequencing machines funded by the US for Vietnam.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Robert Greenan, acting US Consul General in HCM City, said that during the COVID-19 crisis, the two countries have supported each other. Vietnam has sent millions of personal protective equipment to the people of the US, while the US has donated 9.5 million doses of vaccines, more than 100 ventilators, and equipment and laboratory supplies, among others, to Vietnam.
The diplomat stated the handover of the machine to Cho Ray Hospital has a special meaning, as results of analysing virus genetic information with such device can help scientists develop more effective vaccines to protect Vietnamese and American people.
Greenan affirmed that the US commits to supporting Vietnamese people in their fight against COVID-19. The US diplomatic mission in Vietnam will continue to lobby for more vaccines to be distributed to the nation until there are enough doses for everyone who wants to be vaccinated, he noted.
Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of the hospital, thanked the US Government for assisting the establishment’s pandemic prevention and control work. He informed that the number of severe cases of COVID-19 treated here has so far dropped sharply.
According to Truong Thien Phu, head of the hospital’s microbiology department, the machine will be very useful for the facility’s research activities.
The second machine will be handed over to the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi./.
VNA
