Italy grants 801,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam
The Italian Government on August 25 decided to present Vietnam with 801,600 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX Facility to aid the nation’s fight against the pandemic.
The batch of vaccine, expected to be delivered to Vietnam in early September, is the result of the efforts of senior leaders, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh who sent a letter to his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi, asking for vaccine support, as well as the endeavours of the Government’s working group on vaccine diplomacy in the past time.
The donation is evidence of the Vietnam - Italy strategic partnership and shows the solidarity the Italian Government and people have reserved for Vietnam.
Amid complicated developments of COVID-19 with the appearance of new variants, the Vietnamese Government has identified accessing many vaccine supplies for the quickest implementation of the large-scale vaccination rollout is the solution and top priority to push back the epidemic.
Currently, Italy is the European Union's fourth biggest donor of the COVAX Facility with a commitment to provide 15 million doses of vaccine and US$359 million.
As a development partner of ASEAN, Italy recently pledged to donate an additional US$2 million to the bloc’s special fund to cope with COVID-19.
