Second US shipment of 3 million doses of Moderna vaccine arrives in Vietnam

Vietnam on July 24 evening received the second shipment of 3 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the government of the United States and channeled through the COVAX Facility.

The US-donated Moderna vaccine shipments are channelled through COVAX. (Photo: UNICEF)

Closely to 1.5 million doses were immediately transferred to Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest coronavirus hotspot, and the remainder are expected to arrive in Hanoi on July 25, according to a representative of the Ministry of Health.

The Biden administration earlier delivered 2,000,040 doses of the Moderna vaccine to Vietnam, and the shipment arrived on July 10.

In an interview granted to a Washington – based VOV correspondent, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc revealed the US is considering donating additional vaccines to Vietnam in the coming time.

“This is timely and significant sharing and assistance for Vietnam,” he said.

Vietnam has so far received more than 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through different sources, including nearly 7.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine sponsored by COVAX, approximately 5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government, and nearly 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca purchased from the vaccine manufacturer.

Prof. Dr. Dang Duc Anh, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said Vietnam is expected to receive about 91.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

Among them are about 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to children under 18 years of age.

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 4.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Vietnam since the first shot was given in March this year.

Vietnam aims to inoculate 70% of the population (equivalent to 75 million people) by early 2022 to achieve the herb immunity target.