Australia delivers 300,000 Covid vaccine doses to Vietnam

Robyn Mudie, Australian ambassador to Vietnam, formally handed over the AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.

The doses, manufactured in Australia, had arrived in Hanoi last week, the release said. It also handed over more than 650,000 masks and gowns.

More than 700,000 doses have now been delivered to Vietnam, as part of Australia's commitment to share 1.5 million doses.

Mudie said Australia would increase its support to Vietnam by assisting it to purchase 3.7 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses through a procurement agreement with UNICEF and in partnership with the health ministry.

With the future purchase, Australia's contribution of vaccine doses to Vietnam would total to around 5.2 million doses.

Vietnam has vaccinated 35.4 million people with one Covid-19 vaccine shot. 11.6 million people have been fully vaccinated.

It aims to secure 150 million doses to cover at least 70 percent of its population by next year.