The freezers were handed over to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health by U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper in Ho Chi Minh City on March 4.

They are among 111 ultra-low temperature freezers the U.S. Department of Defense is providing to Viet Nam with a total value of approximately US$1 million.

In his remarks at the handover ceremony, Knapper said together with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Defense has stood alongside Vietnamese partners in the battle against COVID-19.

The U.S. donation of the ultra-low temperature freezers today and the previous deliveries of more than 26 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, 100 ventilators and other medical supplies to Viet Nam mark an important step forward in the bilateral partnership in healthcare, he added.

The diplomat emphasized that the U.S. is committed to assisting Vietnamese people in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. Mission will continue lobbying for the delivery of more COVID-19 vaccines to Viet Nam until there are enough vaccines for anyone who wants to be vaccinated.

The freezers will be used by the Pasteur Institute HCM City, Cho Ray Hospital, 176 Military Hospital and CDCs of 20 southern provinces to back the country's ongoing COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

As of March 4, 196,320,242 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in Viet Nam. Nearly 40 million people aged over 18 received booster shots while more than 8 million adolescences aged from 12-17 were fully vaccinated.