US presents additional ultra-low temperature freezers to Vietnam
VOV.VN - The United States delivered 34 ultra-low temperature freezers specifically for COVID-19 vaccine storage to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health at a ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 4.
The freezers are among 111 ultra-low temperature, medical-grade storage units worth approximately US$1 million that the US Department of Defense is committed to delivering to Vietnam as special gifts.
The freezers are designed to store 175,000 doses of several types of COVID-19 vaccines at temperatures ranging from - 20 to - 80 degrees Celsius to ensure the vaccines stay effective.
During the handover ceremony, US Ambassador Marc Knapper said that together with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of Defense continues to stand alongside Vietnamese partners in the battle against COVID-19.
The US deliveries of ultra-low temperature freezers, together with more than 26 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 100 ventilators, and an array of medical equipment show the great mutual support in the COVID-19 fight, as well as effective cooperation in health care between the two countries, said the diplomat.
Ambassador Knapper stressed that the US has pledged to assist Vietnam in the COVID-19 fight and will continue lobbying for more COVID-19 vaccines distributed to the Vietnamese side.
Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, director of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the recipients of the freezers, thanked the US for its timely support, and said the devices will be effectively used in Vietnam.
The freezers are set to be transported to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, Cho Ray Hospital, 175 Military Hospital, and Centres for Disease Control (CDCs) of 20 southern provinces as part of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
