Overseas Vietnamese, int’l friends make great contributions to Vietnam’s vaccine coverage

Contributions by overseas Vietnamese
As of October 3, 2021, the National COVID-19 Vaccine Fund, which was formed in May, received nearly VND8.7 trillion (US$382.3 million) from businesses and individuals inside and outside the country.

Ngo Huong Nam, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that so far, overseas Vietnamese contributed over VND60 billion to COVID-19 prevention and control activities, including about VND12 billion to the National COVID-19 Vaccine Fund.

Meanwhile, more than 30 Vietnamese associations in different countries have launched campaigns to raise funds for COVID-19 control in Vietnam, he said, adding that Vietnamese community abroad has also made contributions in brainpower to the fight.

Notably, Dr. Ho Nhan, an overseas Vietnamese in the US and General Director of Nanogen has been implementing the NanoCovax COVID-19 vaccine project, while Tran Ngoc Phuc, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Japan, Director of Metran Co. Ltd., has transferred the technology to produce ventilators to its partners in Vietnam, and is producing air purifier masks.

At the same time, many intellectuals’ associations, including the Global Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts (AVSE Global) and the Vietnam Initiative, are working actively to give support and consultations to Vietnam in making strategies on pandemic prevention and control as well as economic recovery and development.

Support from international friends, organisations
Along with efforts from the Vietnamese Government and people, Vietnamese communities abroad have exerted efforts to help Vietnam access vaccine sources, while international organisations have accompanied with Vietnam during the fight against the pandemic.

To date, Vietnam has received over 11.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX Facility. In October, COVAX will continue to allocate 85 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to countries around the world, including Vietnam.

Nara Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam lauded Vietnam’s performance in conducting the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with low ratio of severe reactions after injection. She held that there are positive signs that Vietnam will receive all 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year.

For his part, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Vietnam Kidong Park said that Vietnam's way to mobilise resources from individuals and the private sector through the National COVID-19 Vaccine Fund is a unique move. By voluntarily contributing to the fund, people and enterprises have shown their confidence in the Government.

The WHO representative recommended that the Vietnamese Government should speed up the COVID-19 vaccination as fast as possible for prioritised groups, while continuing to strictly implementing its 5K message as well as public health protection measures to minimise the spreading of the pandemic when social distancing measures are loosened.