Viet Nam is expected to secure 60 million doses in 2021 as the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative and AstraZeneca have committed 30 million doses each to the country, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said on February 19.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long (Photo: VNA)

Up to 150 million doses are needed to ensure vaccination for all Vietnamese people, he stated during a virtual meeting with localities on February 19 to discuss COVID-19 prevention and control measures in the coming time.

Negotiations are underway with global multilateral units such as COVAX or AstraZeneca to ship COVID-19 vaccine home as fast as possible, the minister affirmed.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has promptly worked with organisations and vaccine developers in an endeavour to purchase vaccine in the shortest time possible.

Procedures for vaccine procurement, import and utilisation will be carried out in an urgent manner in line with the regulations and recommendations of the World Health Organisation and manufacturers.

Priority in vaccine access will be given to pandemic-hit areas and high-risk people to ensure efficiency, Long added.

He also called on businesses with access to vaccine supply sources to closely work with the MoH in vaccine imports, towards the goal of providing vaccine for all Vietnamese people this year so as to facilitate economic recovery.

Relevant agencies have been ordered to ensure the efficient purchase and use of COVID-19 vaccine and at the same time accelerate research and manufacturing of domestic vaccines that meet international standards and work against emerging variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, he noted.

Source: VNA