Over 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Vietnam

Over 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Vietnam on August 19

To date, this agreement has brought over 6.7 million doses ofVaxzevria to Vietnam. Approximately 14.3 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered to the country through the APA, the COVAX Facility, and donations from other governments, accounting for nearly 62 per cent of the vaccine supply in the country.

In the afternoon of the same day, a call was also held between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the CEO of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot. Beyond vaccine access, the two sides also discussed the progress of AstraZeneca’s health system sustainability programmes in Vietnam, as part of the company’s efforts to address both infectious and non-communicable diseases and contribute holistically to the country.

Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets said, “We were grateful to have the opportunity to speak with the PM today, following our meeting in late June. In response to his request for accelerated vaccine deliveries amidst this complicated COVID-19 outbreak, AstraZeneca has stepped up our supply to Vietnam since July to support the government’s national vaccination programme.”

Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets, at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in June

“We will continue to partner with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and VNVC to deliver our vaccine to Vietnam as quickly as possible so that local communities can soon reunite with their families and return to their normal life,” he added.

To date, AstraZeneca has released more than one billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, to more than 170 countries around the world at no profit.

AstraZeneca’s commitment to support broad and equitable vaccine access worldwide is reflected in its contributions to COVAX. The company was the first global pharmaceutical company to join the global initiative in June 2020, and has delivered more than 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility to date.

Since the first international launches in early 2021, the vaccine has helped to prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and saved tens of thousands of lives. The vaccine is generally well tolerated and around 80-90 per cent effective against severe disease and hospitalisation. The vaccine is highly effective against all variants of concern, including Beta and Delta.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was the first to be authorised for and used in the Vietnamese government’s national vaccination programme. Globally, the vaccine has been granted a conditional marketing authorisation or emergency use in more than 80 countries across six continents.