A nurse in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc prepares a COVID-19 vaccine shot. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is expected to receive 3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the US government through the COVAX facility this week, said Prof. Dr. Đặng Đức Anh, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

That shipment would bring the total vaccine assistance from the US to Việt Nam to 5 million doses of Moderna, after the first delivery via COVAX on July 9.

In addition, the country will get 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Romanian government in the near future, he said, adding that Việt Nam is also asking the Chinese Government for non-refundable aid of 5 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine (Vero Cell).

The Ministry of Health has also disclosed that Pfizer had agreed to increase the volume of COVID-19 vaccines supplied to Việt Nam in the third quarter from 3 million to 3.5 million doses and committed an additional 20 million doses this year (set aside for around nine million Vietnamese children aged between 12 and 18).

This brings the total number of Pfizer vaccine doses expected to be sold to Việt Nam to 51 million.

Thus, in addition to 105 million doses of vaccines committed under signed contracts, 70 million doses are under negotiation and likely to be signed. Việt Nam is expected to have a total of 175 million doses of vaccine this year and early next year.

To date, Việt Nam has received more than 10.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 7.1 million doses of AstraZeneca, 2 million doses of Moderna and 194,200 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. 

Regarding the recent report that claimed Việt Nam will need 10 more years to achieve the goal of vaccinating 75 per cent of the population, Anh said the information was completely inaccurate and groundless.

"If we look at the progress of vaccination in Việt Nam, especially in pandemic-hit areas such as HCM City and southern provinces, vaccination for a large number of people can achieve high coverage in a short timeframe," he said.

Đức Anh also said that more than 26 million doses of vaccines would arrive in Việt Nam in the third quarter and another 65.5 million doses in the fourth quarter.

According to the health ministry, Việt Nam has reached an agreement on transfer of vaccine technology from the US and Russia as well as an agreement to support domestic units to accelerate clinical trials and ensure compliance with the required procedures.

4,305,501 shots of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Việt Nam to date, with the number of people having received the full two doses reaching 309,791. — VNS