Vietnam receives 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine from US
VOV.VN - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 4 received a token of 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States through the COVAX Facility.
The ceremony was attended by WHO Vietnam Chief Representative Kidong Park, UNICEF Vietnam Chief Representative Rana Flowers and United Nations Resident Coordinator Shin Umezu.
It also welcomed the presence of US Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Christopher Klein, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Eric Dziuban and Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Marie Yastishock.
In his address, Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam Dang Hoang Giang thanked the US government and the COVAX Facility for their valuable and timely support to Vietnam’s ongoing fight against COVID-19.
The donation will help Vietnam effectively control the coronavirus outbreak, adapt safely, and move the country into a new normal, he said.
The Deputy Minister noted that with this delivery, COVAX continues to be a major supplier of the vaccines to Vietnam totalling 14 million doses, while the US is the largest COVID-19 vaccine donor for Vietnam, supplying a total of 7.5 million doses.
Giang highly appreciated the effective support of UN organizations and the US government in medical supplies and capacity building for the Vietnamese healthcare sector in disease prevention and control. He expressed hope that Vietnam would continue to receive this important support as well as advice in its economic recovery and social development in the coming time.
Dr. Kidong Park thanked the COVAX Facility’s sponsors and appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in accelerating the vaccination strategy, especially for priority groups and in localities with many COVID-19 cases..
He emphasized the need to continue to focus on COVID-19 guidelines plus vaccine when Vietnam resumes economic activities.
Christopher Klein, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy, affirmed that the US will continue to support Vietnam and other countries to soon overcome the pandemic and better rebuild their economies.
