AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. — AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Parliament of Latvia (Saeima) has announced that it will resell to Việt Nam 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

This is in response to a letter of Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ addressed to heads of parliaments in European nations attending the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (WCSP5) in Austria last month.

NA Chairman Huệ has expressed his gratitude to Speaker of the Saeima Inara Murniece and members of the Latvian Parliament for the “noble gesture” towards to Việt Nam during this challenging time.

In his thank-you note, he said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and relevant agencies of Việt Nam have rolled out necessary measures to purchase and receive the vaccine in the quickest time possible.

He voiced his delight that the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Việt Nam and Latvia at large, and the countries’ parliaments in particular, have been strengthened over the years.

In a related development, the Government of Việt Nam last week approved the decision to purchase some 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca (with expiry date October 31, 2021), that the Government of Hungary has agreed to share.

In this decision, the Prime Minister allows the use of contractor appointment in special cases, basically meaning without going through a standard bidding process.

The purchase of this vaccine batch is approved on conditions such as concurring with a non-negotiable vaccine price as prescribed by the Hungarian Government, along with liability waivers for problems arising from vaccine use.

The Government requested the Ministry of Health to urgently carry out the purchase, ensuring vaccine quality, effectiveness and progress in COVID-19 prevention and control. — VNS