Accordingly, MoH actively contacted Pfizer Inc. to negotiate the content of the draft contract to buy Covid-19 vaccine for children under 12 in Vietnam, in hope of receiving sufficient doses in these first and second quarters with agreed price.
On February 25, Pfizer Inc. sent the draft contract, followed by an online meeting between the two partners on March 1 to clarify details in the contract. The company then sent a confirmation letter on the vaccine price on March 4. There were two more online discussions between the partners on March 7 and 10, also about the contract content.
MoH assigned the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to quickly complete the estimate and plan to choose a suitable contractor and to submit for approval in accordance with the Bidding Law.
Until now, the basic purchase procedure has been finished by MoH to sign the contract with Pfizer Inc. for 21.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for children 5-12 years old.
Also, the CDC of the US informed the possibility of supporting about 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for patients in Vietnam.
On March 8, in the meeting between the Prime Minister and US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), it is announced that USABC will support Vietnam with Moderna vaccine for children from 5-12 years old. MoH, therefore, asked that the council quickly inform the specific dose quantity and time in order to subtract this number in the final contract with Pfizer Inc.
However, MoH proposed that until March 15, without any information from USABC, MoH would sign the contract for 21.9 million doses and refuse the support Modern vaccine so as not to waste this amount.
