Vietnam, US cooperate to expedite delivery of protective suits for COVID-19 fight

Hanoi (VNA) – The US Embassy in Hanoi said on April 8 that the Governments of the US and Vietnam have worked together to expedite the delivery of made-in-Vietnam personal protective equipment to the US.

The first of two initial shipments of over 450,000 DuPont protective suits departed Hanoi on April 7.

The US Department of Health and Human Services contracted with FedEx Express to expedite delivery of the suits to the US Strategic National Stockpile in order to address the urgent need for protective equipment for frontline providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. 

US Ambassador to Vietnam Dan Kritenbrink said, “This shipment will help protect healthcare professionals working on the front lines against COVID-19 in the United States and demonstrates the strength of the U.S.-Vietnam partnership.”

The US and Vietnamese governments have cooperated extensively in the COVID-19 fight.  Since the beginning of this crisis, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have been collaborating with Vietnamese officials to monitor and respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation. 

According to Ambassador Kritenbrink, over the past 20 years, the US has invested more than 706 million USD in health assistance for Vietnam, and over the past decade has provided substantial technical and financial support to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging and serious infectious diseases. 

Most recently, the USAID announced 2.9 million USD in additional health assistance to help the Vietnamese government to accelerate laboratory systems; strengthen case-finding and event-based surveillance; and support technical experts for rapid response, risk communication, and infection prevention and control.

Earlier, Vietnam also presented medical supplies to many countries to assist with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 7, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung symbolically handed over 550,000 made-in-Vietnam anti-bacterial masks as gifts from the Vietnamese Government and people to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

In early April, the Vietnamese Government and people presented medical equipment worth over 7 billion VND (304,000 USD) as gifts to Laos and Cambodia. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung handed over the gifts, which included specialised protective clothing, medical masks, testing systems and COVID-19 test kits, at a ceremony on April 3.

In February, Vietnam sent breathing equipment, cleanroom suits, gloves and face masks worth 500,000 USD in total to China to help the country fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many agencies and organisations in Vietnam also donated medical supplies to foreign countries in support of the anti-epidemic fight./.