Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets in a meeting with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. The company received a prestigious Certificate of Merit from Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính for the company’s exceptional contributions. — Photo Courtesy of AstraZeneca Vietnam

HCM CITY — AstraZeneca Vietnam recently received a prestigious Certificate of Merit from Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính for the company’s exceptional contributions to Việt Nam’s vaccine diplomacy efforts.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was the first to be approved, delivered, and used in Việt Nam. In total, over 72 million doses of the vaccine were supplied to the country through both an advanced purchase agreement and bilateral government donations. 

By independent estimates, in the first year of roll-out up to December 2021, this vaccine helped save over 232,000 lives in Việt Nam, preventing hospitalisations and deaths amid the fourth wave of the pandemic.

In addition to this recognition from the Prime Minister, Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets, was awarded a Friendship Medal from President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. 

Kapoor’s proactive and decisive leadership on the company’s vaccine journey has accelerated contract and supply timelines, making Vietnam one of the first countries in Asia to access COVID-19 vaccines.  

“We are honoured to partner with the Vietnamese Government and society in the fight against the pandemic. The recognition that we received today is immensely meaningful to our 500 local employees, our partner Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC), and many other global and regional colleagues who worked around the clock to deliver vaccines at no profit ahead of schedule to protect Vietnamese people, while maintaining our supply of innovative medicines for other patients who were silently struggling with dangerous chronic diseases,” Kapoor said. 

The recognitions are added to AstraZeneca Vietnam’s long list of prestigious awards, including certificates of merit from the Minister of Health, for excellent contributions to the fight against cancer and COVID-19, a Friendship Medal from the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union for outstanding impact on youth, multiple awards from BritCham and EuroCham, in addition to being recognised among Việt Nam’s Top 100 Best Places To Work for four consecutive years.

The journey of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in Việt Nam began in November 2020 when AstraZeneca and VNVC signed an advanced purchase agreement to bring 30 million doses to Việt Nam, with the support of the Ministry of Health. Despite a global shortage of supply, AstraZeneca made significant effort to prioritise deliveries to Việt Nam and fulfilled the contract ahead of schedule in early December 2021. — VNS