“COVID-19 vaccines are lifesaving tools, but with a limited supply, prioritizing the most vulnerable is the most optimal way to save lives” said Dr Kidong Park, WHO Representative for Viet Nam.

“As we face the surge of cases, we need to accelerate and ramp up our efforts in vaccinating the health workers, the elderly and those with underlying conditions to protect them from severe illness and death,” Park added.

Meanwhile, Lesley Miller, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Viet Nam said: “It is critical that priority groups, including health and social workers and teachers, are vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to ensure that children are able to return safely to school and get the preventive health services they need.”

 Among 8,681,300 doses of COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Viet Nam through the COVAX Facility, 5,000,100 doses are Moderna vaccine from the US Government and 3,681,200 doses are AstraZeneca. 

To date, over 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Viet Nam, among them 659,064 second doses. The additional vaccines will help the Ministry of Health to expand coverage and reach more people from priority groups, contributing to attaining the country’s target of vaccinating more than 70 per cent of population by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

 The limited global supply of COVID-19 vaccines affects the vaccination rollout in many countries. As many people remain unvaccinated, it is essential to continue the 5K: wear mask, practice physical distancing, sanitize, and avoid closed and crowded settings.

The latest shipment of Vaxzevria® vaccines (previously called COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) was developed jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. This batch is shipped from Laboratorio Univesal Farma, manufacturing facility in Spain.

The Vaxzevria COVID-19 vaccine has received the Emergency Use Authorization from WHO and has been used successfully in Viet Nam since March 2021 under its previous name./.