More than 800,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Italian Government will be delivered to Việt Nam early next month. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

HÀ NỘI —The Italian Government on Wednesday announced it would give Việt Nam 801,600 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX Facility to aid the nation’s fight against the pandemic.

The batch of vaccines, expected to be delivered to Việt Nam in early September, is the result of the efforts of senior leaders, including Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính who sent a letter to his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi, asking for vaccine support, as well as the endeavours of the Government’s working group on vaccine diplomacy.

The donation is evidence of the Việt Nam - Italy strategic partnership and shows the solidarity the Italian Government and people have reserved for Việt Nam.

Amid complicated developments of COVID-19 with the appearance of new variants, the Vietnamese Government has identified accessing many vaccine supplies for the quickest implementation of the large-scale vaccination rollout is the solution and top priority to push back the pandemic.

Currently, Italy is the European Union's second-biggest donor to the COVAX Facility with a commitment to provide 15 million doses of vaccine and US$359 million.

As a development partner of ASEAN, Italy recently pledged to donate an additional $2 million to the bloc’s special fund to cope with COVID-19. VNS