HCMC to start COVID-19 mass vaccination covering 8,000 people
	First batch of vaccine under Covax to arrives in Vietnam next month
	Nearly 38.000 Vietnamese receive Covid-19 vaccine, more 3 provinces launch inoculation campaign this week

There are currently AMV Group, Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1 (Vabiotech) and Vimedimex Medi-Pharma JSC are being in talks with the U.S and Indian producers, Vnexpress reported.

Vietnam has received vaccines from the global vaccine access mechanism Covax and purchasing contract of Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). More than 800,000 doses under Covax are expected to be transported to Vietnam in the next three weeks due to the delayed delivery.

Vials of Sputnik V vaccine. Photo: Reuters

Covax is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

VNVC is among three units granted approval for importing vaccine from AstraZeneca, along with the Covax Facility and UNICEF.

A total of 29,87 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines ordered by VNVC are expected to arrive in Vietnam into 5 batches between April and August.

The Health Ministry on March 23 gave emergency use authorization (EUA) for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, making it the second greenlighted Covid-19 vaccine in the country, after AstraZeneca.

The Ministry greenlighted Sputnik V based on its safety, quality and effectiveness data provided by the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (Polyvac) as of February 25.

Polyvac reached the deal with Russia in being authorized to register, importing, distributing and producing the Sputnik V vaccine in Vietnam at the end of 2020. Nevertheless, the vaccine supply scheme has not been disclosed.

In addition, Vietnam is stepping up negotiations with Johnson & Johnson and Moderna as well as other vaccine manufacturers in Russia and China.

Apart from imported vaccines, the Ministry of Health is accelerating the research and development of locally-produced ones. Nanocovax vaccine by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC entered its second phase of human trials last month. Meanwhile, Covivac by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) has been conducting its first phase of human trials.

A worker holds up a vial of Nanocovax, a domestic Covid-19 vaccine, in a laboratory in HCMC's District 9. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Two other Vietnamese vaccines are in development, produced by Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1 (Vabiotech) and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (Polyvac).

Vietnam received more than 117,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses out of a total of 30 million ordered by VNVC on February 24. These vaccines were allocated to provinces and cities to inject their medical and other frontline workers.

As of March 25, nearly 38,000 Vietnamese have administered their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Hai Duong, the nation’s biggest Covid-19 hotspot in the latest outbreak, has the highest number of recipients with 17.248 people. Vietnam has recorded cases displaying reactions after inoculation, but most of whom with common ones. The post-injection response rates are equivalent to those reported by the manufacturer. Some cases with severe reactions were timely treated and now in stable health conditions.

Vietnam expects to start producing its own Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this year's third quarter.

The country is also expected to acquire 150 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from both foreign and domestic sources by 2022.

Czech Republic ensures ‘fair vaccine access’ for overseas Vietnamese The Czech Republic affirmed that the Vietnamese community in the country would enjoy the same fair Covid-19 vaccine access as its citizens.

ASEAN Today: Vietnam-produced COVID-19 vaccines help raise the country’s geopolitical status ASEAN Today, a leading ASEAN commentary site on March 24 ran an article titled “Vietnam’s in-house vaccines will play a role in pandemic geopolitics”, highlighting ...

Vietnamese enterprises not allowed to import COVID-19 vaccines without authorities' consent Companies and enterprises in Vietnam are not allowed to import COVID-19 vaccines from foreign manufacturers and administer the injection themselves, the Ministry of Health said ...