Vietnam to receive 103 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by year-end

It said Vietnam has reached agreements and signed contracts with donors and manufacturers to receive nearly 160 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

More than 34 million doses of different brands such as AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinopharm and Sputnik V have been delivered, and the approximately 103 million doses will be supplied to Vietnam in the coming four months.

Earlier Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu said approximately 30 million doses are likely to be delivered to Vietnam in September and October alone.

The Ministry of Health reported it has requested localities to speed up vaccination to increase the vaccination coverage and help halt the spread of the virus in the community.

As of September 10, nearly 27.2 million doses have been administered nationwide, including 1.17 million doses on September 9 alone, a record high figure.

The MoH has conditionally approved seven COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use in Vietnam, namely AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Janssen (Johnson&Johnson), Moderna (Spikevax), Pfizer (Comirnaty), Sinopharm (Vero Cell), and Hayat-Vax.

Data from the MoH show nearly 600,000 coronavirus infections have been confirmed across Vietnam since the virus recurred in late April. Daily caseload has hovered around 13,000 cases, mostly in southern localities especially Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, the two largest coronavirus hotspots.

However, the infection rate in the community during the week decreased slightly compared to the previous week, with the rate in Da Nang down 60%, Binh Duong down 27%, and Long An down 3%.

Similarly, the mortality rate nationwide also decreased by 30%, of which Ho Chi Minh City recorded a 30% fall, Dong Nai 50%, Long An 30%, and Tien Giang 70%.

To date, 14,745 COVID-19 patients have died in Vietnam, making up 2.5% of the total number of infections and 0.4% higher than the average death rate globally.