Vaccine batches at VNVC's cold storage. — VNA/VNS Photo
The two batches – 524,300 and 918,000 doses – are part of the deal for 30 million doses that the Vietnam Vaccine Company (VNVC) has with AstraZeneca, with the support of the health ministry.
The vaccines have been transported to VNVC cold storage for quality control before handover to the health ministry for allocation.
This is the first time AstraZeneca has shipped two separate batches to Vietnam in a single day, making it the biggest delivery out of the order to date.
With this shipment, 27.3 percent of the contract – 8.2 million doses – has been fulfilled.
Vietnam to date has received about 28 million doses from various sources, mostly AstraZeneca with 17 million doses (from VNVC, bilateral donations and COVAX), followed by five million doses of Moderna (US donation).
Nitin Kapoor, CEO of AstraZeneca Vietnam said the accelerated delivery demonstrates AstraZeneca’s commitment in supporting Vietnam’s health sector in fighting the pandemic, as AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said during the phone conversation with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last week.
Nitin Kapoor also said that following the talk, Vietnamese ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long has visited and had a working session with AstraZeneca at its headquarters in London.
The two have had in-depth discussion on potential cooperation areas to boost healthcare sector in both countries.
To date, Vietnam has administered nearly 19 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
