Vietnam to receive vaccines from US surplus

Vietnam is among the group of Asian countries and territories that will receive this batch of vaccines from the US

The White House announced that the US government is to share at least 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine worldwide by the end of June 2021, and plans to donate the first 25 million doses. Vietnam is among the group of Asian countries and territories that will receive the vaccine in this batch.

According to the announcement, at least 75 per cent of these doses (nearly 19 million) will be shared through COVAX, including approximately six million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately seven million for South and Southeast Asia, and approximately five million for Africa, working in coordination with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The remaining doses, just over six million, will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbours, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the Republic of Korea.

President Joe Biden claimed that the sharing of these doses will not be used to secure favours or extract concessions. "We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values,” he said.

AmCham executive director Adam Sitkoff stated that the efforts of many people urging the US government to donate vaccines to Vietnam were effective, including the recent letter from President Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Sitkoff added that although the first shipment of vaccines to Vietnam is not large, it is only the first phase of a large-scale programme.

“The US will allocate at least 80 million doses worldwide this month and we expect much more to follow later this summer,” said Sitkoff and added, "Right now, only three out of every 10,000 people in Vietnam are fully vaccinated and until many more people get jabbed, we will likely see additional outbreaks and economic disruption from the virus."

"It is difficult for people to be patient in the middle of an outbreak but the global demand for proven vaccines far exceeds supply. Government officials are working hard to ensure large quantities of vaccine arrive here at the soonest possible date. However, people need to be realistic and recognise that we are a long way from community immunity here. In the meantime, people should follow Vietnam's COVID-19 prevention measures, stay vigilant, and use common sense,” Sitkoff stated.