(From left) UNICEF Representative in Việt Nam Rana Flowers, WHO Representative in Việt Nam Dr. Kidong Park, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Đặng Hoàng Giang, and Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Việt Nam Christopher Klein at the reception ceremony for the 1.5 million doses of vaccine that the US Government donates to Việt Nam via COVAX. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a ceremony in Hà Nội on Monday to symbolically receive 1.5 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility with assistance from the US Government.

The shipment arrived at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội late Saturday, the US Embassy announced.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đặng Hoàng Giang thanked the COVAX Facility and the US Government and people for their timely support as Việt Nam accelerates its COVID-19 vaccine drive.

The assistance helped Việt Nam effectively control the pandemic and safely adapt to the “new normal,” he said, adding that COVAX had remained a major provider of COVID-19 vaccines to Việt Nam, supplying the country with a total of 14 million doses so far, while the US had been top vaccine donor to COVAX as well as to Việt Nam with 7.5 million doses to date.

He also highly appreciated the effective support from UN agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the US in medical supplies and capacity building for Vietnamese health workers, saying Việt Nam wished to continue receiving such important assistance as well as consultancy for its post-pandemic recovery and socio-economic development in the future.

On behalf of the UN agencies, WHO Representative in Việt Nam Dr Kidong Park expressed his gratitude towards COVAX donors and spoke highly of Việt Nam’s efforts to speed up vaccinations against COVID-19, particularly for priority groups like health care providers, frontline responders, the elderly, people with co-morbidity, and in most-affected cities and provinces.

”I also want to remind everyone that vaccines alone will not stop the community transmission," he stressed. 

"5K + Vaccine matters now more than ever as we resume economic activities and transition to new ways of living safely with the virus.” 

UNICEF Representative in Việt Nam Rana Flowers, pledged to continue providing support to Việt Nam, especially in getting students back to school and tackling social issues.

Christopher Klein, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Việt Nam, also affirmed that the US Government will continue assisting Việt Nam and other countries in overcoming the pandemic and building back better. — VNS