Australia teams up with Vietnam on vaccine rollouts

August 26, 2021 | 16:22

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Australia will deliver more than 400,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam this week, as part of the ongoing commitment to work together with the close friend and strategic partner.

Australia teams up with Vietnam on vaccine rollouts. Photo: Unsplash

The donation brings the total number of doses that Australia has shared with the Pacific and Southeast Asia to over two million. This is part of Australia’s commitment to share at least 20 million doses with the region by mid-2022.

This week’s delivery is the first instalment towards Australia’s commitment of 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses that are to be shared with Vietnam this year.

In addition to Australia’s existing $40-million package of vaccine-related support to Vietnam, the country is partnering with UNICEF to procure additional doses to support Vietnam’s COVID-19 response, as well as providing funding for syringes, training of healthcare workers, fridges to maintain cold chains, and support for the vaccine rollouts in remote provinces.

Senator Zed Seselja, Minister for International Development and the Pacific said that, "Australia’s partnership with Vietnam complements our $100-million commitment to the Quad Vaccine Partnership with the United States, Japan, and India, and the contribution of $130 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, providing fair and equitable access to vaccines in developing nations."

He added that, "Access to safe and effective vaccines is the highest priority for countries in our region, which will help to save lives and promote our shared economic recovery," Seselja noted.

By Thanh Van

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