A plane carrying the first batch of 117,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccine landed at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City, on February 24.

First batch of COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Tan Son Nhat airport (Photo: VNA)

The vaccine was jointly studied and produced by AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company and the UK’s Oxford University.

Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong highlighted the significance of the vaccine delivery at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is erupting in Hai Duong, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

With the delivery, Viet Nam has become one of the first countries in Asia to access a prestigious vaccine in the world.

Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong at the delivery ceremony (Photo: VNA)

In order to achieve the dual goal of fighting the pandemic and developing the economy, it is necessary to increase vaccination to reach community immunity, he said.

Apart from stepping up the trial and production of vaccines at home, the Health Ministry is working to import more vaccines from other producers as directed by the Government while preparing for vaccination in the priority list, he added.

Vu Thu Ha, Director of the Viet Nam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) – importer of the vaccine, said the batch will be brought to the VNVC’s super cold facilities for storage in line with the Government and Health Ministry’s regulations.

Result from clinical trials showed that 22 days after the first shot, AstraZeneca vaccine could fully protect people from serious illness, hospitalisation and death caused by the novel coronavirus. Within 90 days, the vaccine’s potency could reach 76 percent.

Analyses showed that the vaccine could reduce infection risk by two thirds for cases without symptoms.

Source: VNA