Vietnam receives additional 3,000,060 doses of COVID-19 Moderna vaccine donated through the COVAX Facility by the United States Government. (Photo: UNICEF)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam receives additional 3,000,060doses of COVID-19 Moderna vaccine donated through the COVAX Facility by the UnitedStates Government, of which, 1,499,960 arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on July 24and 1,500,100 doses will arrive in Hanoi the next day.
This is the second batch of Moderna vaccine to be delivered to thecountry this month, bringing the total donation from the US Government to Vietnamto more than five million doses, according to UNICEF Vietnam.
To date, Vietnam has received 7,493,300 doses of COVID-19vaccines in four shipments through the COVAX Facility, the global risk-sharingmechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19vaccines. They include 5,000,100 doses of Moderna vaccine from the USGovernment and 2,493,200 doses of AstraZeneca.
Since the arrival of the first shipment of vaccines from theCOVAX Facility in early April, close to 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses havebeen administered in Vietnam, among them 353,601 second doses. The additionalvaccines will help the Ministry of Health to expand coverage and reach morepeople from priority groups, contributing to attaining the country’s target ofvaccinating more than 70 percent of population by the end of the first quarterof 2022.
“These vaccines arrive at a critical time for Vietnam as thecountry experiences its fourth and most devastating wave of COVID-19,” said UNICEFVietnam Acting Representative Lesley Miller. “The doses donated by the USGovernment through COVAX will boost Vietnam’s vaccination campaign to protecthealth staff, frontline workers, the elderly and other priority groups definedby the Government.”
The COVAX Facility is co-led by the World HealthOrganization (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI),GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF as the key delivery partner. The donatedvaccines are provided through the COVAX dose-sharing mechanism, which allowswell-supplied countries to share vaccine doses with other countries to helpprotect the most at-risk populations globally. The vaccines will contribute tothe aim of reaching 20 percent coverage in low- and middle-income countries, aspart of the Phase 1 vaccine allocation.
For several months, COVAX partners, WHO, CEPI, GAVI anddelivery partner UNICEF, have been supporting the Government of Vietnam inreadiness efforts and the national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. They have beenespecially active in developing a National Vaccination Plan, as Vietnam isbenefiting from the Advance Market Commitment (AMC), an innovative financialmechanism to help secure global and equitable access for COVID-19 vaccines./.
