On behalf of the Government of Vietnam, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long received 02 million doses of U.S. Government's Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine for emergency use for the Nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign, of which 01 million doses will be prioritized for immediate deliver to Ho Chi Minh City.
This batch of vaccine is among the 80 million doses of vaccine that the U.S. has committed to supply from domestic vaccine sources from May 2021, of which approximately 41 million doses are distributed through the COVAX mechanism, in order to meet global vaccination demand.
Speaking at the reception ceremony, Mr. Kamal Malhotral - United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam emphasized that the COVAX mechanism is the world's great hope to ensure fairness in the global distribution of vaccine. So far, the global COVAX mechanism has distributed about 215 million doses of vaccine and more than 100 million doses have been shipped to 135 countries and territories, including Vietnam.
Representative of the U.S. Government, Mr. Christopher Klein - Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, shared that this batch of vaccine offers hope for an end to the fight against Covid-19 and soon return to normal life. The U.S. is committed to working with partners around the globe in efforts to end the pandemic's impacts on people's health and the economy.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and representatives of Ministries and branches attend the Ceremony to receive 02 million doses of vaccine from the U.S. Government
Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. has contributed 2 billion USD to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to support the procurement and transportation of Covid-19 vaccines to 92 low- and middle-income countries.
In Vietnam, besides donating vaccines, the United States has supported more than 17.7 million USD for Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control activities. Previously, Vietnam received 2,493,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX mechanism. Since the first batch of vaccine arrived in Vietnam in early April 2021, the country has so far injected nearly 04 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. The additional vaccine source will help the Ministry of Health expand vaccination coverage and reach more people in priority groups, thereby contribute to helping Vietnam achieve the goal of vaccinating more than 70% of the population by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Immediately after the ceremony, 01 million doses of the vaccine are immediately delivered to Ho Chi Minh City
Immediately after the Launching ceremony of the Nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had direct contacts and discussions with the United Nations representative in Vietnam, the representative of the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, the representative of the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam and asked the United Nations and other countries to create more favorable conditions for Vietnam to access supply as well as vaccine production technology. The rrepresentative of the United Nations and other countries agreed and said they would continue to support, aid and provide vaccines for Vietnam in the coming time, helping Vietnam overcome the pandemic and develop its economy.
Reported by Doan Trang - Translated by Nguyen Trang