Vietnam receives 7.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Australia
VOV.VN - The Ministry of Health received over 7.2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Australian Government on May 10 in order to vaccinate children aged five to 12 in Vietnam.
During a handover ceremony held at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi, Mark Tattersall, Deputy Ambassador of the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, said his nation is proud to stand alongside Vietnam in its ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian support has greatly contributed to accelerating the vaccination coverage in the country, which boasts one of the fastest vaccination rates in the world, the Australian diplomat said, adding that the swift deployment of vaccines for children is expected to serve to protect them during the duration of the pandemic.
Previously, the Australian Government had also committed to providing the country with more than 14 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 7.2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and over seven million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to support the country in its child inoculation campaign.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam, Australia has delivered more than 7.8 million COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam in order to jab people over the age of 18.
In response, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen thanked the Australian Government and various representatives of Australia's diplomatic agencies based in Vietnam for their concern and assistance in the nation’s ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deputy Minister Tuyen revealed that apart from requesting that localities speed up their administration of the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and complete the second shot for children aged 12 to 17, the Ministry of Health has also devised a plan to vaccinate children aged five to 11.
“We will promptly allocate the vaccines to medical facilities and localities to accelerate the vaccination for children in the age group in the fastest and safest manner,” Tuyen noted.
As of May 9, more than 1.85 million COVID-19 vaccines doses had been administered to children from five to under 12 years old in provinces and cities nationwide, according to the Ministry of Health.