It said on Wednesday the fund would accept contributions in the form of cash and vaccines from benefactors in Vietnam and abroad.

To be managed by the Ministry of Finance, it will buy Covid vaccines and also fund studies into and the production of vaccines.

It will be audited by the State Audit Office of Vietnam and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, an umbrella organization of all political and social groups in the country.

It is not yet clear how big it would be, but the Ministry of Health said a week ago that Vietnam aims to secure 150 million doses of vaccines to immunize 75 percent of its population this year, and the cost is estimated at VND25.2 trillion ($1 billion).

Though the fund has only been formalized now, the health ministry has already received contributions of tens of thousands of dollars from companies and others.

Vietnam, which currently uses the vaccine produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca for its immunization program, has received nearly 2.9 million doses, 464,000 through commercial contracts and the rest through Covax, and vaccinated over a million people so far.

The ministry has deals to buy 30 million doses and obtain 38.9 million doses through Covax. It has also registered to buy 10 million additional doses through Covax under a cost-sharing scheme to benefit from lower prices.

Besides, it has inked a deal to buy 31 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine this year.

Four vaccines are under development in the country by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1, and Polyvac.