Ms. Thuy Anh says Vietnam has not yet licensed any domestically-made Covid-19 vaccine
Currently, five vaccines have been in the phase of clinical trials including Nanocovax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, Covid-19 HIPRA and S-268019. Three of them have been tested in the third phase, said Ms. Thuy Anh.
Regarding vaccination against Covid-19, Chairwoman Thuy Anh highly appreciated the Government's efforts in deploying vaccination against Covid-19 on a national scale, in vaccine procurement and diplomacy so that residents can access free-of-charge vaccines quickly.
However, during the initial period of vaccination, some localities faced certain difficulties in the implementation of immunization.
According to her, the procurement, management and use of the Covid-19 vaccine fund in the Government's report are still not specific. Information about the number of purchased vaccines, the number of injected vaccines, and the number of canceled vaccines have not been clarified; therefore, it is difficult to have a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of this fund.
There have been hiccups along the way to ensure enough supply of drugs, vaccines, medicine, and equipment for epidemic prevention and control because medical facilities have been mainly using sponsored medical equipment provided by the Ministry of Health.
In particular, there have been some serious mistakes in the procurement of medical equipment and supplies, causing public concern as well as badly affecting the social economy.
Noticeably, Ms. Thuy Anh said that as per some information, there will be a risk of drug shortage in 2023 when more than 14,000 drugs will expire, which will greatly affect medical examination and treatment; accordingly, she requested the Government to clarify the cause of the risk of this drug shortage and make an official report for the National Assembly’s consideration.
