Three million more US-donated Moderna vaccines arrive in Vietnam

Three million US-donated Moderna vaccine doses arrive to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi

Half of the three million doses arrived in Ho Chi Minh City and half will arrive in Hanoi later today (July 25). This delivery follows the July 10 donation of two million Moderna mRNA vaccine doses that the US donated to Vietnam through the COVAX Facility.

Remarking on the arrival of the vaccines to Vietnam, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Christopher Klein said, “We are here to help Vietnam at this difficult time, and our total donation of five million doses of Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is proof of this support. We will get through this pandemic and emerge stronger together.”

US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Marie Damour added, “We are proud to be able to assist Vietnam with more US vaccines, especially with the delivery of nearly 1.5 million of the total doses directly to Ho Chi Minh City, the current epicenter of Vietnam’s fast-growing outbreak.”

The US and Vietnam continue to build on our longstanding cooperation with over $1 billion US investment in Vietnam’s health infrastructure to strengthen Vietnam’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to these donations of five million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the US has committed $19.8 million in COVID-19 related assistance to Vietnam since the start of the pandemic.

The US is committed to working with partners across the globe to end the devastating public health and economic effects of this pandemic. The US, through USAID, contributed $4 billion to Gavi in support of COVAX's purchase and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to 92 low- and middle-income countries, making the US the largest single financial donor supporting COVAX. The US contribution for COVAX is supporting equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations, including frontline healthcare workers.

In addition to the five million Moderna vaccine doses the US donated through the COVAX Facility, Vietnam has received 2,493,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX Facility. The COVAX Facility is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), GAVI – the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF as key delivery partners.

President Biden also recently announced that the US would provide 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Gavi for distribution by COVAX to 92 low- and lower-middle-income countries and economies as defined by Gavi’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which includes Vietnam, and the African Union. President Biden said, “We are sharing these doses not to secure favours or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic.