The meeting took place after the first batch ofCOVID-19 vaccines, jointly studied and produced by AstraZeneca pharmaceuticalcompany and the UK’s Oxford University, arrived in Vietnam on February 24.
Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long expressed his thanked for efforts bythe COVAX Facility programme to help Vietnam soon approach the vaccines.
Vietnam wishes to get quality vaccines at suitableprices and matching the country’s storage capacity, he said, pledging that hisministry will promptly deal with procedure-related issues to facilitate the deliveryof COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX Facility programme.
The ministry has assigned relevant agencies to putforth communication plans for the vaccination.
Representatives from the international organisationsagreed on the need to mobilise the involvement of different economic sectors inthe storage of certain vaccines like Pfizer that must be kept at minus 70degree Celsius and can be refrigerated for only five days.
This has been the biggest vaccination campaign inVietnam so far, with more than 100 million doses, Long said, informing that theministry has promptly charted scenarios and mobilised the participation of allunits both and outside the medical sector in this campaign.
The participants also stressed the significance of supervisingand assessing the body’s reactions to the vaccine.
A plane carrying the first batch of 117,600 doses ofCOVID-19 vaccine landed at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City, on February24.
Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong highlightedthe significance of the vaccine delivery at a time when the COVID-19 pandemicis erupting in Hai Duong, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.
With the delivery, Vietnam has become one of the firstcountries in Asia to access a prestigious vaccine in the world.
Result from clinical trials showed that 22 days afterthe first shot, AstraZeneca vaccine could fully protect people from seriousillness, hospitalisation and death caused by the novel coronavirus. Within 90days, the vaccine’s potency could reach 76 percent.
Analyses showed that the vaccine could reduceinfection risk by two thirds for cases without symptoms./.